Animal Rights in Spiritualism- Newsletter 2013.

Season’s Greetings Everyone,

In spite of the fact that the badger cull went ahead in June , this year has been marked by some goodness; not least, Derbyshire County Council pledging not to allow the said culling on their land , while, in the U.K.’s South West, many good people gave up their sleep to peacefully sabotage the night-time killings, which have, for now, been halted.

2013 has also seen British Columbia become a genetically- modified free province of Canada; the European Union ban sales and imports of animal tested cosmetics; Israel doing the same but with the inclusion of household cleaning products and vegetarian Bill Gates use his position to promote a plant-based diet.

Moreover, our argument for a vegan way of life is reinforced publicly by the production of a new report by co- authors , Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang entitled “Livestock and Climate Change.”

According to Goodland and Anhang, livestock farming is responsible for 51% rather than 18% of ‘Greenhouse Gas emissions, the latter of which was reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation’s “Livestock’s Long Shadow” in 2006.

Some very heart-lifting news is that Europe’s first vegan supermarket, owned by Ralf Kalkowsky opened in February of this year, in Dortmund, Germany. Occupying a city centre position, Vegelicious sells everything from chocolates to dog food and boasts thirty different cheese alternatives. With around 150 customers a day they are prospering and we wish them all the blessings of the Great Spirit in furthering the vegan cause.

On the down side, badgers were not the only ones being culled; the Dartmoor ponies had been rounded up with mainly the very young and old being sent to slaughter. Apparently, four of them sold for a pound! People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA) stated that chemical sterilizers could be used on the herds instead of culling, but to no avail, it seems. On top of everything, the hides of these noble creatures were being made into pagan drums, sanctioned by the “Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Ponies” .  It seems, they wanted to waste as little of them as possible and felt that the locally sourced wild pony drums would bring a boost to the area. I rather think that what is needed is the equivalent of Hillside Animal Sanctuary in the vicinity. From a wider point of view, I can never understand how those who are supposed to feel so much reverence for Mother Earth, as a living being, can brainwash themselves into thinking that it’s the natural and ecological way of life to eat animals and use their skins. Vegan pagans amongst us- it’s time to have a quiet word with those of your own belief-system.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2428553/Dartmoor-ponies-culled-hides-drums-used-Druid-style-retreats.html#ixzz2j93oKYSM

This year, as well as street campaigns, we held a course of holistic healing events at St Leonard’s Church in Chesterfield., spanning from July to October.

Apart from the usual talk and film by Patrick on natural prevention and treatment of cancer and other diseases, which have proved to be of help to sufferers of the same, people were able to enjoy reiki, reconnection and spiritual healing along with emotional freedom technique and reflexology.

Vegan refreshments were served , all manner of animal rights and recipe leaflets were on display and the sum of the voluntary donations was sent to Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk, whose work has been promoted oft- times in our newsletters. http://www.hillside.org.uk

Animal and Human Healing List.

Sharon Jones,  Carole Neale-Eyre, Tony Ortzen,  Leisha & Philip Yates, Philip’s mother, Peter Spillet, Pat Taylor, Barnaby, Solo, Hetta, Janet Williams, Pamela Williams, Denise Bottal’s mum, Shirley Mahoney, Socks, Sylvia Murphy , Phyllis White, Shadow, Phyllis James, Joan Birch & friends, Roger Raynes, Betsy, Poppy, Lucy, Margaret Towler & Kevin, her cat, Vivienne Brocklehurst, Gina Szwelicka, Sian Winstanley, the Alan Berry family, Bangers, Don Gwillim, Annie, Dalcin Stacey, Pina Marsala, Patricia Thompson, Lucy, Dr. Carling, Richard Marshall, Simone & Gerard Phillips, Juliet Gale and cat, Monty, Charlotte Orr, Margaret Slack, Elaine.Hall, Mary Ashton, Jennifer Preston, Vivien White, Elizabeth Green, Pippin, Jennifer Briddon, Sophie, Gemma, Emily, Alison Scott, Freddie, Cath Clements’s dog, Daisy, Janet William’s cat  and all in need.

Please send special thoughts for Ruby Bunce and Rita Benson at this time.

Some supporters may have been thwarted in their attempts to reach the A.R.I.S. website this year. I do apologise . This is due to the fact that ‘Veg Web’ closed down in the form it was and I decided to take up my son, Austin’s offer to facilitate me a new one on ‘Word Press’. Since Simone, who built websites for me in the past, was less available to help technically, due to her employment commitments, this seems to be the best thing to happen , all round. The new site, which I’m gradually uploading material on to, looks good and is much easier for me to work with.

http://www.arisgroup.org

Vivisection.

World Day for Animals in Laboratories’ march and rally was held in Oxford this year, at which our A.R.I.S. contact, Albert, a staunch member of the Oxford A.R. Group, gave the “Welcome” speech.  Among the other speakers were: Adrian Stallwood, scientific advisor for Animal Aid and Erica and Lisa for the Save the Harlan Beagles campaign. Also, Albert’s poem was highlighted in the SPEAK magazine after the event:

we marched thru the city of Oxford

with banners and flags a-flying

we marched to help our animal friends

with shouts and chants a-crying

we reached the lab and stood at the gates

with anger and sorrow within

we vowed to carry on our fight

until, our battle, we win.

Animal liberation – Albert.

http://www.speak campaigns.org  animal rights campaigns, particularly against vivisection and Oxford university experiments.

Staying with anti-vivisection, most of you will know of the excellent medical charities campaign run by Animal Aid. There are three campaign postcards for supporters to send to Cancer Research U.K., British Heart Foundation and Alzheimer’s Research, informing the charities that they will no longer support them until they cease funding animal experiments.

Well, it seems the charities have been fighting back and a friend received a reply from one of them which more or less stated that research could not be successful without the use of animals and that the creatures they use are well looked after. They made no mention of the fact that they force mice, whose brains they have damaged, to swim around in water mazes.

They also informed my friend that if she really didn’t want to support their animal based research, she could donate to their non-animal studies instead. Here, I must point out that, had she done so, she would still have been paying to help keep the organisation in business and free to carry on with their cruel torture of those who, unlike the humans they were being sacrificed for, had not developed Alzheimer’s disease but had had its like inflicted upon them .

This charity also made the point that it only used such as fruit flies and mice, reinforcing the idea that these creatures suffer less and are also not worthy of the consideration given to larger animals such as dogs and cats and primates, etc. In fact, mice and other rodents have been persecuted down the centuries in one way or another. Instead of viewing these sensitive and intelligent creatures as “ filthy vermin” let us become aware of their potential for compassion and ingenuity as illustrated in a true story from

Hans Rueschs’s book, “Slaughter of the Innocent”

Roughly, the story goes that a Russian miner was walking home from work when he came across two rats on his path. He took a stick and killed one of them and then realised that it had been leading the other blind rat along by a straw in it’s mouth! This creature had given its life to stay with its vulnerable friend when it could, most probably, have shot out of the way of danger.

While we have rodents in our awareness, please take note of contact, Richard Smith’s request for readers to write to Wilkinson’s stores and ask them to replace inhumane methods of catching mice with humane ones.

Pat’s Points

Go Vegetarian .. but … don’t stay too long .. When I was in my late twenties, I realized where meat came from , so I gave it up : a couple of years later .. fish . .. ditto. Around eight years later, someone gave me a magazine called The Vegan, pointing out what Basil Fawlty described, when referring to one of Sybil’s revelations, as “the bleedin’ obvious” : obviously, “going vegetarian” did not eliminate animal abuse from one’s regime : the slaughter house was, it could be argued, not nearly as bad as the rest of it – factory hens, cows, rabbits … : the fur industry, .. and on . So, I went vegan, in my early thirties : for someone, born with a pronounced dislike of cruelty, it was a tardy track record.

As with vivisection, the moral arguments against the animal “food” industries tend to fall on deaf ears, for most : Man is, as a rule, concerned, only, with its own welfare and of those other humans which it needs to get by : so, if the ethical arguments fail, the selfish arguments need to be emphasized. With regard to vivisection, the obvious point is that synthetic drugs, pesticides, herbicides, vaccines, food additives .. tested, for safety and efficiency on animals , maim and kill very large amounts of humans : experiments results cannot be extrapolated from a rat to a mouse, let alone animal to human. As far as food is concerned, the most important argument for the elimination of animal produce came in the form of The China Study of 2006 , T. Colin Campbell Ph.D. It was “The most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted.” – an 8,000-component 20-year work which found “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease … People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease. ” Critically, with regard to the vegan campaigns, Dr Campbell noted ” .. Our work showed that casein is the most relevant cancer promoter ever discovered. .. “: around 87% of milk protein is casein .

Cancer Support : supporting whom? One non-mushroom woman (not happy being kept in the dark and fed manure) – a professor of geochemistry, took charge of her own health and reversed her breast cancer through the elimination of dairy produce : standard holistic advice. “Patient support group” Breakthrough Breast Cancer called this “worrying”. Breakthrough – funded by AstraZeneca, Lilly, Novartis, Roche , Fizer and … Myriad Genetics, the outfit behind the “hereditary breast cancer” racket – along with Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Campaign, control The All Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer. Understandably, non-drug approaches to cancer and prevention are not part ofthe agenda.

The AstraZeneca drug Tamoxifen, with its multitude of dangerous effects, death-included – is the way forward : none of this natural nonsense. Nutritional cures are definitely “worrying” : the main concern is the chance that UK women might discover that the basic difference between the rural Chinese woman with a very low cancer rate and the British woman , with a very high rate, is dairy produce and other animal foods in the diet.

The APPG is, currently, “investigating” ie rubber-stamping the Breakthrough/AZ agenda on ” breast cancer risk, early detection : access to gold standard treatments and to information and support ” Not only is the Group unable to see through Breakthroughor any of the other pharma-dominated ” patient-support ” groups, the APG has made Breakthrough the APG “secretariat” : “.. responsible for the secretarial, clerical, and administrative affairs..” : no doubt, a balanced, impartial filter, for those wishing to contact the APG … all highly amusing, except for the 12,000 UK women’s deaths per year and all of the attendant pain, mutilation, grief.

Another group, Cancerbacup, which has multiple drug-company backing, merged with MacMillan in 2008. Apart from these groups, the £multi-billion Cancer Business consists of : “research” – the fund-raisers, the vivisectors, the laboratory animal breeders and sellers, the laboratory, equipment manufacturers : the petrochemical-drug makers – “chemotherapy” : the radiation interests – “radiotherapy”, mammography , : : the on-the-payroll media plants, trying to pass themselves off as “medical correspondents”, “science editors” : the hospice enterprise . .. all, of which, put out a constant stream of lethal disinformation and advice ” eat The Dept of Health Balanced Diet, have the vaccines, the anti-biotics, the anti-coagulants, the anti-pyretics, the anti-virals.. the anti-everything .. the statins, the steroids , the X-ray screening.

When diagnosed, opt for the tumour-attack package , of surgery, drugs, radiation .. a regime, diametrically-opposed to that needed for survival .. with the inevitable result .. and at the rate of 150,000 UK citizens, each year, and at an annual cost, to the nation, of £15 billion-plus .

Milk:

WHOLE LOTTA BOTTLE

Saturated Fats, Casein, Pesticides, Herbicides, Vaccines, Antibiotics, Mastitis pus, Disinfectant. 

Asthma, Obesity, Cancer, Osteoporosis, Catarrh, Eczema

Dolphins and “Two Worlds.”

During August, the annual bloodbath and murder of hundreds of Atlantic White-Sided dolphins and Pilot whales took place in the Faroe Islands , off Norway. This fishermens’ ‘event’ is called “The Grind”. “The dolphins are driven into a bay with boats and even jet skis and pulled up onto the beach with a hook in the blow-hole. Then the spinal cord is cut with a knife.” writes Erwin Vermeulen of The Sea Shepherd conservation society.

That anyone could commit this brutal killing of any creature is is shocking enough but to do so to a species who have oft-times gone out of their way to help human-kind out of dangerous situations, throws all their nobility and purity of heart back at their wonderfully cheerful and uplifting spirits.

Tony Ortzen, editor of Two Worlds  magazine has kindly sent in his following article which was printed in the November issue and highlights the special attributes of a, sometimes, seemingly angelic being:

“DOLPHINS. We absolutely love ‘em, don’t we, especially as for centuries they have often been known to help humankind when in danger.

Bathing costumes at the ready, let’s get changed, dive in and briefly explore just two out of countless cases.

Take, for instance, Davide Ceci, who, when aged fourteen, fell out of his father’s boat in south-east Italy.

Unable to swim, Davide was within minutes of probably drowning when a dolphin named Filippo came to his rescue. He had been a popular tourist attraction off Manfredonia in the province of Foggia for two years.

While Emanuele Ceci was still unaware his son had fallen into the waves, Filippo was pushing him up out of the water to safety. The dolphin bore down on the boat and got close enough for Davide’s father to grab him after he noticed what had happened.

Davide’s mother said: “Filippo is a hero. It seems impossible that an animal could have done something like that – to feel the instinct to save a human life.”

After becoming separated from a visiting school of dolphins, Filippo continued to live in the waters off Manfredonia. Maritime researcher Dr Giovanna Barbieri commented:

“Filippo seems not to have the slightest fear of humans. I’m not surprised he should have done such a wonderful thing as to save a human.”

Still in the swim of things, let’s now meet Todd Endris, 24, the owner of Monterey Aquarium Services, California, who, one hot August day, decided to go surfing with friends.

Whilst doing so, suddenly a fifteen-foot shark appeared. It tried to bite him, but could not get its jaws around both Todd and the surfboard, so came around for a second attempt.

Todd became sandwiched between his surfboard and the shark’s jaws, but because his stomach was against the board, his internal organs were not harmed. However, he lost a lot of skin from his back.

The shark let go and raced at Todd for a third time, trying to swallow his right leg. Fortunately, this gave the surfer the grip he needed to start kicking the shark in the snout until it let go.

At this point, Todd was running out of energy and thought he was done for when a pod of dolphins came out and formed a protective ring around him, keeping the shark at bay long enough for Todd to catch a wave back to shore and receive emergency first aid.

I’ve featured these stories because scientists have just discovered that dolphins have names for each other and call one another just like humans. Apparently, they use specific signature whistles for family members and social companions – the only animal species apart from humans known to do so.

The study of wild bottlenose dolphins off the east coast of Scotland found that they responded to their own whistles by calling back. The findings suggest that dolphins use signature whistles as labels to address or contact individuals of the same species they meet at sea.

Biologists Dr Stephanie King and Dr Vincent Janik, of St Andrews University in Fife, added that the use of identity signals mirrors the human convention of naming people.

Of course, there’s much more in their report, but it should surely prove to us that many forms of life are far more astute and intelligent than most people realise.

It also illustrates that we ought to treat all animals with love, respect and admiration rather than abuse and eat them, or use various creatures as forms of entertainment and sport.

All life truly is interrelated. Similarly, all that swims, flies, crawls, walks, waddles, ducks and dives contains a spark of indestructible spirit that, like us, survives the so-called grave.”

Tony Ortzen edits “Two Worlds,” Spiritualism’s 76-page independent monthly magazine, which was founded in 1887.

Two free copies are available to download at www.twoworldsmag.co.uk

If you would like a sample copy sent by post, please e-mail your name and address to tortzen@globalnet.co.uk or write to “Two Worlds,” PO Box 55307, London SE16 6WW. An annual UK postal subscription is £22.95.

You can read “Two Worlds” online anywhere in the world! Go to www.twoworldsmag.co.uk for further details.

I would once more like to commend Alistair Hamilton to you for his dedication and kindness in producing yet another poetry book at three pounds a copy, earning another hundred pounds for A.R.I.S. Thank you, Alistair.

This collection is entitled “Thoughts from an Earth Voyager” and I thought you might like this little character study:

I am a Cat.

by Alistair Hamilton.

I am a cat.

I watch where things are at.

I am as independent as you please.

I can purr with consummate ease.

You can expect me….when I arrive,

Though I have been known to skive.

I’m an affectionate thing,

As long as I’m not kept on a string.

I always land on my feet.

My prowess cannot be beat.

I always play to win

And I never, ever, will give in.

So, now I must away.

I’ve another game to play.

I’m the master of this house –

Just ask any mouse!

A Special Book Review._

Animal Souls: Chay Nephesh by Jackie-Jones-Hunt.

http://www.jackiejones-hunt.com

Animal Souls: Chay Nephesh will prove to be a valuable asset in our work, with its painstakingly researched information.

Through its content, we now know that not only Jesus’s teachings regarding animals were suppressed, but also those of Confucius, Pythagoras and other ancient spiritual philosophers, who brought a message so unambiguous that it is infuriating to recall no mention made of it in lessons on the subject during our school years.

Much more than a book, it appears to have been brought, at this time, as part of the Divine Plan. Producing a captivating and thought-provoking work, Jackie Jones-Hunt PhD also provides , through her heart-rending account of her beloved dog, Edward’s life and death, remarkable evidence to sceptics that our animals not only communicate with us from the Spirit World but do so with the same love, understanding and intelligence of their human families .

I would also like to make further comment on some important information contained in Jackie’s book, namely and I quote:

“Notably, Confucianism is acceptable to the Chinese government as it is perceived to uphold a principled society without providing the people with religious beliefs in a God and the continuation of life after death.”…….“Wisely demonstrating great foresight, the Chinese government encourages the students in the proliferating Confucian schools to be daily given an organic, vegetarian diet.”…. “…Astutely, the government rules that the children carry out organic, arable farming activities in the afternoon, in order to learn about environmental conservation.”

What a step forward! We are so used to hearing the stories of animal abuse in China, despite the wonderful work of Animals Asia Foundation, that these words fill our ears with heralding music of hope for the future. Change is so much needed, now that Peta have filmed workers in Chinese angora factories pulling hair out of rabbits by the roots. I have news just in that petitions to companies involved in buying this product has recently met with success.

 http://www.sumofus.org/savethebunnies

Our supporter, Denny White Crow Reader, who lives in in Leamington Spa, , has produced a book of poetry entitled “Inside the Outside” – “Musings from a Transparent Heart” which expresses the deep and complex feelings of one who cares for our planet and is unhappy with society’s materialism and abuse of “Gaia” and her inhabitants of all species. Here is one poem in his collection which appeals to all of us to take responsibility for each other and fight for a better world:

The Resistance

We Learn, we Grow, we Question, we Feel.

The Potential Dangers of a fascist uprising,

The Dangers of a society resting in apathy.

Capitalism spreads its infectious Glamour,

While millions World over seduced by the ‘American Dream’,

There is no cream with your coffee when the Planets really Screaming,

There is no Hope in Humanity,

When the people are enemies to themselves and each other.

Split, Seduced, Groomed into the Material Status Chase,

Where Tyrants Rise, and the Caring Fall,

And the Earth and the Spirits keep relentlessly call.

Animals tortured in the name of Progressive Science,

Yet Awareness keeps Rising, from the Growing Hearts of the Caring,

And masses of Humanity educate and teach each other in the Art of Conscious Living and sharing Global Information.

The Controllers, The Order thumps down their Feet,

In an attempt to prevent people Rising in the Street,

Too many know now, too many are waking,

To the fact that we can Govern ourselves;

We can Govern ourselves.

Yet we plough on, We plough on with the Resistance,

Know in our Hearts, a Better Way, A better fairer World.

We are not here to be merely consumers,

We are Here to Share, To Give, Learn, Grow, To Experience,

To Be with Each Other.

We Know of a Better World.

This Is, The Resistance

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Denny’s book, please go to amazon.co .uk where you will find them advertised for sale.

Readers may remember Maggie Keynes engrossing article on communication with animals in last year’s issue. I hope you find similar enjoyment in the concluding part of it and look forward to the adventure of putting her instructions in to practise.

Animal Communication. Part two by Maggie Keynes.

So, how do we communicate with our animals so they will not only understand our communication, but that we are able to understand what they communicate back to us? The first step, just as with our Spiritual healing, is unconditional love, that awe-inspiring emotion which really does seem to “make the world go around”. Sit quietly with your animal and tell him or her you love them, expand your heart chakra, and visualise the colours pink or green associated with this chakra, in beautiful waves, so that the energy envelopes both you and your animal. If you would like, ask your Guide or your Spirit friends to help you, and send your communication thought to your animal, or ask them in a soft voice what you wish to communicate to them. Have no doubt the communication will be received.

You may like to have some questions ready:

To any of your animals: “Do you like the food I give you?” Send your animal a picture in your mind of their feeding bowl or pail containing their usual food – you may receive a picture back of a bowl full of an alternative, or sense (even smell!) another flavour which you will recognise as a suitable food they might love to eat. You may quite likely see a brand-name!

To any of your animals: “Do you feel lonely if I go out, would you like a companion?” Visualise your animal alone in the house, you may receive an emotion of sadness, meaning your animal does miss you, and may even like to have suitable company from another, or you may receive a “no – I’m fine, thank you!”

To a cat: “Do you prefer to do your toilet outside, or would you like me to provide a litter-tray for you when it rains and you would prefer to stay indoors?” Visualise a clean tray of cat-litter, maybe situated in your porch or even bathroom (for instance). You may receive an affirmative and the sensation of a sigh of relief!

To a horse, one question at a time: “Would you like to be ridden more often, is your saddle comfortable, are you lonely, do I keep your bedding fresh enough for you, do you need any extra herbs or supplements?” Horses are great communicators, and like cats and dogs, are extremely psychic. Check with your Vet if you receive a picture in your mind of any herbs or supplements you recognise as being beneficial – it’s surprising how many animals know what is nutritionally good for them.

And crucially, to every one of your animals: “Do you love me as much as I love you?” Hopefully you will receive the warm, contented emotion of love surrounding you.

(3)

May I take the liberty of adding a communication-request on behalf of animals who are left on their own, albeit temporarily. If you are out at work all day and every day it may not be a good idea to have an animal at all, but if you are planning a holiday for instance, please tell your animal(s) how long you will be away, where you are going and why. All animal communicators, both professional and amateur know that animals have an amazing concept of time. Tell your animal(s) through visualisation and communication for how long you will be away (how many) days or nights, tell them if someone is coming in to feed them, or if they will be taken to a friend’s house, a cattery or kennels during your time away. Leave an old piece of your clothing with them for comfort, and visualise the happiness you will both feel when you are reunited.

________________________________

Another plea, and this is for those dogs who are often left tied up outside shops whilst their owner goes shopping. They seem so forlorn, often shaking with fear, looking longingly at people leaving the shop, hoping it is their “person”. Please communicate to your dog you will only be gone for a very short while, you will be back as quickly as possible and to trust you and sit quietly. These points can all be achieved through communication and visualisation. If you can promise them a tasty treat for being so patient with you, please do, but don’t bribe them with promises you can’t keep!

I hope you have enjoyed this rather personal discussion, and if you require further information, please input: “Animal Communication” into your Internet browser, or go to your local library or bookshop.

There are many animal communicators “out there”, who offer professional advice and training-courses, and who have also written books on the subject. These communicators devote their lives to trying to ensure animals’ lives are that much better. Please be aware that a lot of emotion is involved, especially in tracking lost animals, or if an animal is ill (obviously for any medical problems, a vet must be consulted), but if there were more animal communicators, so many more people would understand just how wonderful are our animal companions, and how much they love and depend upon us. We are privileged to witness and appreciate the amazing wildlife we have on our Earth, and must campaign against selfish and cruel people who exploit them.

I am grateful that we who support A.R.I.S. know to search out and buy cruelty-free cosmetics and household-cleaning goods from those companies who have a “cut off date” from animal testing, such as: Beauty without Cruelty, Honesty Cosmetics, the

Co-operative, Astonish and many, many more; or use natural cleaning products such as bi-carbonate and lemon juice. Thanks also to those of us who donate to animal charities, and to medical charities who do not use vivisection. Even buying FSC sustainable or recycled furniture and paper, along with choosing locally-produced/seasonal/organic food as often as possible, will help preserve animals’ habitats and the way they are treated. There are many small, but significant ways in our daily lives we can make a positive difference for animals, and remember – we can all communicate with them, and vice-versa. Similar to healing and mediumship, neither time nor distance is an issue, and practice, practice, practice means that you and I will achieve our ambitions – for the sake of the animals.

(This article is for A.R.I.S. use only and not to be reproduced by any other media. Maggie Keynes.)

(A.R.I.S. will pass on any email messages or postal correspondence to Maggie.)

________________________________

A Voice for the Animals.

I would like to introduce you to a very special person, indeed. She is a lady who has spent the last four decades tirelessly fighting for the rights of all animals and promoting the vegan lifestyle to everyone she meets, whether on a bus, in a cafe or on a march. No-one escapes the gift of leaflets, recipes, information and referrals to those more qualified than herself in vegan nutrition. In fact, if you’ve been an active campaigner in the movement for a good length of time you have probably seen her and remembered her. Well, she’s not that easy to forget… once seen…..

We are talking very colourful, here, and I don’t mean just the clothes, although you may think a rainbow of fireworks has just hit you. However, who needs fireworks when you have the bright, warm radiance of the noon-day sun which is the best way I can find to describe the phenomena named Sue Fox.

She has been a real asset not only to our group up here in Derbyshire but to all the veggie/vegan restaurants in the county and beyond, each of whom, I’m sure, would have suffered an earlier death without her. Her never-ending smile and natural earthy charm has won over a meat-eater or two while her fiery passion for what she believes in has seen her thrown out of a car which was taking her to an important event. Always check out the driver beforehand, folks.

Sue’s favourite group to support is Sea Shepherd, the animal activists’ boat which sails the high seas ready to do what their expertise allows in the rescuing of whales, dolphins and other sea life from the cruel slaughter by fishermen in various regions of the world.

Having always held a great concern for the wild animals of Africa, her latest endeavours took her on the visits of a lifetime to Kenya’s wildlife conservation area, where, realising that she really should have had more sense than to smear coconut oil all over her body, she was covered from head to foot in bees! Yes, she did survive and went on to be flung down a hill, out of reach of the rhino making a B-line for her.

All in all, though, Sue had wonderful times at the sanctuary, seeing lions , elephants and other animals in close proximity. One thing that stood her apart from the other tourists was the fact that she had lovingly bought and packed away many little gifts throughout the year, leading up to her visits, to take to the children of the nearby Masai village.

This visit was not on the holiday itinerary but had been requested by Sue, ever having a thought for those less fortunate than herself. Some of the men of this village worked as guides at the conservation park. One of its cheery managers,  named Piers Winkworth  had recently rescued an elephant from the sadistic poachers who roam the wild looking for elephant and rhino to kill for their tusks which will then be sold on to the ivory trade.

Piers sent the baby elephant , who was on a drip, by plane to the David Sheldrick Wild-life Trust founded by Dame Daphne Sheldrick DBE in memory of her husband, David who was the founding warden of Kenya’s Tsavo National Park .

On call all day and night, every day of the year, their main work is in rescuing the orphaned elephant and rhino babies who have lost their mothers to poaching. The aim of the keepers is to re-integrate these youngsters back into the wild, eventually, by hand rearing and lots of love. As you may imagine, some are traumatised by the experience of seeing their mothers brutally killed and are left vulnerable to predators and starvation unless they are able to reunite with their herds. Luckily for some, the trust’s patrollers are able to catch the poachers and part of their work is to remove illegal snares. The team also help injured animals by flying them to where they can receive emergency treatment via their “Sky Vets” service.

The conservation teams’ holistic approach also sees them planting trees, putting up fences , helping create local employment and supporting twenty schools with provisions.

Having worked for thirty five years to protect Kenya’s wildlife, The David Sheldrick Wild-life Trust reminds us that: “Every year, up to 35000 African elephants are killed by the ivory trade for their tusks.”

If you would like to support this vital work, you may find out how by visiting www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org or write to The David Sheldrick Wild-life Trust, 2^nd floor, 3, bridge Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT228BL

If you would like to support Sue and you live in the Brighton/Hove area, perhaps you are able to respond to the following appeal, as this lovely lady is, sadly, leaving a great hole up here in ‘The Peak’ and moving ‘down south’ where, I think, the inhabitants will see the new year come in a with a bang.

Can anyone let a bed-sitting room to a vegan lady and her cat, for a short time in January, please? If so, please phone Sue on 07929 619822

Reiki –Self Healing through Compassionate Living.

by Elissa Rattigan.

Over the past few years, I’ve taken some time away from my A.R.I.S work in order to be able to bring more back to it. I have completed the levels of Reiki training which have allowed me to teach and attune others in the practises of this wonderful energy and now I would like, if I may, just this once, to bring a little of its essence, wisdom, history and vital healing principles to you, the readers.

The Japanese word, Reiki, translated into English, means spiritual or universal energy and I once was told it meant energy of God or energy of The Great Spirit. This would be apt as ki is often translated as Divine energy and Rei as Spirit or God.

This is the same force which runs through all of us, as we are all part of God, the Oneness or the Great Collective Spirit, just as is everything that lives. When we become out of alignment with the greater mass, we become dis-eased. Being reconnected to our source switches on our energy supply once more and we are healed.

In terms of practise, this is the energy channelled from healer to client in all forms of energy based healing, whether it be spiritual, magnetic or Reiki. What places Reiki apart from other healing techniques are its attunements, symbols and hand positions, which are discussed in the student’s manual.

In order to explain how the practise of Reiki came into being, I need to tell you a little about its history:

From various records, it would seem this remarkable practice originated in ancient India before Buddhism and Hinduism, but no-one knows for sure, which of the varying accounts of its modern day history is the correct version. Here is the most commonly given:

In modern times, Reiki was brought to the West by a religious scholar, named Dr. Mikao Usui, born in Japan on August 15^th, 1865. The story goes that while teaching in a seminary, one of his students asked when he was going to show them the secrets of healing the sick according to the way Jesus applied this ability. This had such an impact on Dr. Usui that he vowed to make it his life’s work to find out what it was that made such masters so powerful in their ministry.

From then on he travelled to other parts of the world and studied Christian, Buddhist and other mystical teachings. During this time he learnt that certain symbols (mainly Sanskrit) and sounds were utilised in this kind of work.

However, it was only through meditation and fasting that he was able to unlock the true power of these symbols and eventually empower others through a process of attunement.

At this point, I would say that I believe that all of us gain the most vital information through meditation and inner listening – that which is vital to our individual pathways. This is the knowledge we can each of us add to the cauldron of collective wisdom.

After spending some time in a Zen Buddhist monastery, Usui confided in the Master Abbott, who suggested he retreat to Mount Karama where he should fast and meditate for twenty one days. On the last day of his fast, Usui saw a great, bright light appear and settle over his head. In this moment , he gained a truly deep insight into the power and uses of the symbols, as the Reiki energy empowered him.

He was so enlivened by this energy, that, instead of being weakened by three weeks without food, he found he could rush down the mountain. However, in so doing, he injured his foot. Bending to hold it, as one instinctively would, he found that the bleeding stopped and the pain disappeared.

On reaching the bottom of the hill, he naturally sought a place where he could buy food. It was here that he found that the same healing power worked its magic on others, too, when he instantly healed the food seller’s daughter of toothache and facial swelling.

Truly blessed and eager to serve, Mikao Usui travelled back to Japan where (as one version of the story states) he encountered a ghetto of beggars. Healing them of their disabilities which had prevented them from being able to earn a living, you can imagine his disappointment when, several years later , he returned to find not only one of them, once again, begging for their needs. One of the men explained to Dr. Usui that, despite some success in finding marriage and employment, he found it much easier to live by begging . It is said that from that day on, Dr. Usui decided that Reiki should not be given freely, as people tended not to appreciate or value the healing unless they paid for it or took part in some kind of exchange .

Yet, another source states , that after seeking further help from the mount Kurama temple, he came across an ancient set of principles which helped to heal the soul, mind and emotions , thereby working to prevent disease from reaching the physical body. His experience among the beggars had proved that , without, firstly, healing the self of negative thoughts and feelings, it is, in most cases, pointless to seek healing for physical illness which is, often,  the result of the former imbalances.

Later on, Mikao Usui decided to train others in three degrees of Reiki healing, writing, in one of his manuals, that the first level should be available, freely, to all of the people,. This level contained the study of those ancient principles, which he named the “The Special Method of Inviting Blessings – The Secret Remedy for All Sickness” They are:

The Five Principles of Reiki

Just for today, I will let go of anger.

Just for today, I will let go of worry.

Today, I will count my blessings.

Today, I will do my work honestly.

Today, I will be kind to every living creature.

Of vital importance to the practise of Reiki, as regards self healing and spiritual unfoldment, are The Five Principles. Now, although there are only five, contained within them is a sixth, by virtue of the repetition of the word “Today”.

This strongly implies that living in the ‘now’ helps heal our past traumas and anxieties for the future. It is easier said than done, of course, for most of us to deal with the building resentment which accompanies an inability to forgive hurt. However, unless we can find a way to become reconciled to the past , this will eat away at us, eventually reaching the physical body in the form of illness.

Yet, people in these circumstances have eradicated the festering effects of such incidences by reprogramming their memory cells . Using visualisation techniques to re-live the event as though there had been a different, more positive ending, constant negative replays are replaced with happier recollections. Apparently, whatever we register with these cells, they will play out.

As regards anxiety for what may happen, it is helpful to remember that , as our past has played a great part in the formation of the life we live today, so our thoughts, feelings , actions and reactions of the present will, more or less, manifest as our lot in the future. Armed with this truth, this should not be a cause for further worry, but give us a sense of empowerment as we realise we can be in greater control of our own destinies and any effect on our mental, emotional and spiritual health . By living our lives one day at a time, past, present and future become what , in Divine time, they truly are – all one. This sixth ‘umbrella’ principle is of great help in achieving those of one and two, “I Will Let Go of Anger” and “I Will Not Worry” which have a direct impact in our bodies. We only have to note the tension headache caused so often by anger and frustration , the immediate acid release to our stomach region with sudden hurt or resentment and the palpitations with acute anxiety ( and the list goes on) to realise this truth

So, how do we deal with our emotions in order to avoid a chronic build up in our systems? Firstly we must recognise that everyone we meet on a regular basis is in our lives for a reason, as we may be in theirs.

Those who particularly give us a “hard time” should all the more be blessed by us, as it is possible they incarnated with the agreement of being a catalyst for change and growth within our spiritual development, in order to help us learn certain lessons or overcome weaknesses. Sometimes they mirror what we most dislike in ourselves. We may look back on our dreadful times with them, where no light seemed to shine in the darkness and realise that it built the inner strength and courage we have today and that our lives are richer for it….. and them. Maybe we wouldn’t have found our true pathway in life , had we not been ‘forced’ in it’s direction. Having said all that, there are ways to help us react to stress in a more positive way:

Judge the deed and not the doer. Examine our consciences daily. (We are often guilty of doing to others that which we would not wish them to do to us)

When we think an angry or worrying thought, change it quickly to its positive opposite, thereby avoiding a build-up of negative karma for the future.

As we move on toward the third principle of counting our blessings, it is good to cultivate an awareness of Universal Law. One such law, studied by countless successful people across the globe, is the “Law of Attraction” based on the concept of “Like attracts like” and the practise of giving and receiving, or exchange. It is said that the Universe loves gratitude and that this is an intrinsic part of manifesting what you want in life.

There is nothing so levelling as a tragedy in one’s life or a loss of certain faculties to appreciate the simple blessings. We often don’t see things in perspective. For instance: one who is in constant pain for more than a month or two and can’t rest for it, will appreciate the value of deep sleep or a relaxing, pain-free coffee break which many take for granted. Counting our blessings means being grateful for what we have and it sometimes takes this kind of setback to value, fully, the simple, natural gifts of life.

Practising the five principles in daily life helps to remove blockages in our energy field. It helps us to become unstuck and to see a way through to the light at the end of the tunnel.  Counting our blessings trains our thinking to look at life in a new, positive light. We begin to appreciate the beauty of our universe, the lovely scents and colours of the flowers, the magic of the stars, the healing power of the sun. There are no diamonds or crystals to be bought finer than those made by the play of sunlight on raindrops or moonlight on frost-patterned leaves on the ground. They are freely given and meant for our eyes only, at special moments in time Appreciating the beauty in nature develops higher love, higher spirituality. In this light, we should not only be grateful for our family, our friends and our beloved animals but without a doubt, give thanks to the Universal forces of nature, for without them we cannot live.

I will do my work honestly – what does this mean?

Having integrity in your work means honouring those you are serving. Never pass on information to a third party that has been given to you in confidence. Resolve not to make negative comments about others, especially ‘behind their back’.

Doing our work honestly means not letting our selves, egos, or fear of not succeeding get in the way of altruistic service . When the healers amongst us constantly put themselves down as not being good enough, it means they haven’t understood that they are only channels – the buckets, not the water. Be honest in what you really want to do. Ask yourself why you are doing this. Is it for the right reasons? Is it for prestige or compassion? We can sometimes subtly fool ourselves ? Doing something for the wrong reason means we will never really do it well.

Now we come to the last but not least of the Reiki principles. In my opinion it is the one upon which all the others are based. It is the Law of Love.

“Today, I will be kind to all living creatures”

This means showing kindness to ourselves, the people we come into contact with and all other life-forms. Can we be kind to some creatures but cause suffering and death to others? If we are to apply the Reiki principles to our lives and use them in our healing work, as we are meant to do , this means we must examine , meditate upon and try to put into practise each one, not least this last which may have wide, life-changing implications for most people. They will find this principle compelling them to look at each area of their life, each day, with a new, self-questioning approach. To do this they have to think freely, away from the stupor of what is considered the norm in our society.

If we take Reiki back to at least as far as Buddhism, we will ponder over the fact that Buddha spoke of the “Oneness” of all living things and to refrain from killing or harming anything. He spoke of developing compassion for all beings. Most people love their companion animals or pets but what of the animals used in food, research, clothing, sport and entertainment? Are we living the fifth principle when , through our demand for any of these commodities, we contribute to the suffering and death of sentient beings who would love life as much as we do, were they given the opportunity? The more compassionate we become, the nearer to the Reiki energy we are, for this is an all-loving source of oneness.

We may be a wonderful person to our fellow human being but never give a thought to the plight of the individual whose body was sacrificed for our shoes, health or food. Even less do we consider how we harm our planet through our mining, pollution and destruction of its wilderness. Likewise, we may feel great empathy and compassion for other species but continually judge, belittle and emotionally blackmail the humans in our lives. We may not be aware as to the extent, but living just for today helps us check these wrongs out and begin to deal with them in a way that we are also kind and tolerant with ourselves.

Ourselves………. “You can’t love others until you love yourself” Heard that one before? Well, we can but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love ourselves. I think most of us are quite cruel to ourselves, especially to our bodies, who work hard to keep us alive. That is because we haven’t realised that we are made up of many little people – our cells. Each one is a living entity and therefore is a part of The Great Spirit or God, just as we are. I imagine it in a way as though we are each a planet to our cells, just like our Earth is to us. These life-forms must suffer along with us when we abuse our bodies. They must need our love and protection, as we need the blessings of our Mother Earth, who has bodily systems similar to our own. To realise this puts a new light on loving ourselves and giving time for our own needs instead of driving ourselves onward mercilessly, like the hard taskmasters we sometimes are. In the practise of Reiki, or any other healing system, self healing is as important as healing others, for, if we don’t have our own health, we cannot give of our best service to those in need..There is only now. Let us seize the moment.

If you wish for help from a reiki practitioner serving your area, one may be found registered at Healer Practitioner Association International. http://www.hpai.co.uk

This year I thought readers may like a change from the usual teachings of The Cosmic Brotherhood and One Earth Vision guides and recap on what Spiritualism’s most famous spirit guide, Silver Birch has to say on the subject animals and how we treat them. Here are a few quotes from the many Hannen Swaffer circles he attended through his medium, Maurice Barbanell:

“You have needless cruelty and terror inflicted on innocent creatures in the false belief that through this vicious means health will be attained by humans. This is not true. The long-term problem is to spread the knowledge of spiritual realities so that these wicked and often diabolical experiments should altogether cease. You have to reach the stage where man has developed his conscience to know that what he is doing is wrong?”

“If the Great Spirit intended that all animals and all humans should be perfect, then they would not be in your world, or even in mine. They would have achieved the summit of evolution, which is not possible because it is an eternal progression. There is much to be done to end animal cruelty. There are wars constantly being fought between the forces of good and those of greed and selfishness, between the ones with knowledge and those who are ignorant. And there are the short-sighted people who do not realize the part animals play in your world and that they have as much right to be there as humans have. The battles will be fought, and gradually you will win.?”

Which animals have survived from prehistoric times? The elephant. Was that a brute? It was not. The animal was a vegetarian that did not prey on other animals. All the others have not survived. Which is the strongest?

You have a garden. If you work with nature you get results. If you abuse nature, you don’t get results. Show love not only to your fellow beings, but to animals. Do not exploit people, do not exploit animals and do not exploit nature. Then you are helping not only the people of your world, but everything that exists to have that peace, orderliness and harmony that is the ultimate purpose of evolution, the law devised by the greatest power in the universe.”

“…From many points of view, meat-eating is deleterious. These points of view include physical, mental and spiritual aspects. Not only is the moral question involved, the health question is involved, too. From the spiritual point of view I would go as far as to contend that, with the evolution of the race, vegetarianism will become the increasing diet of large numbers of people.”

Links

Online vegan shop selling cruelty free food, drink, essentials and gifts launching very soon at: http://vegantown.co.uk – A percentage of every sale goes to animal welfare charities.

www.parsleysoup.co.uk   recipes including scrumptious chocolate cheesecake

http://betweenusmag.co.uk/ “ Between Us”    South-west based Spiritualist magazine.

www.stonewolf-imaging.co.uk   Inspirational wildlife photography – beautiful images on cards by supporter, David Pilling.

Two Worlds – monthly Spiritualist magazine. You can read “Two Worlds” online anywhere in the world! Go to www.twoworldsmag.co.uk for further details

www.pfnh.org              People for National Health group. Patrick – vegan nutrition, cancer politics.

Psychic News  Monthly Spiritualist magazine  www.psychicnews.org.uk

Sea Shepherd “defending ocean wildlife worldwide”  http://www.seashepherd.org

David Sheldrick Trust Kenya Wildlife Conservation Rescue.  www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

oneearthvisionandmission.blogspot.com  One Earth Vision & mission.  Centre for World Peace and Healing Sanctuary.

Peta   People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.   www.peta.org.uk

Animal Aid    Animal rights/Anti-vivisection campaigns.      www.animalaid.org.uk

Viva     Vegan/ Animal rights campaigns    www. viva.org.uk

http://www.quaker.org.uk  Quaker Concern for Animals.

www.essenes.org  The Brotherhood of the Essenes.

www.christianvegetarian.co.uk  Christian vegetarian Association UK

http://www.all-creatures.org/ca/ Catholic Concern for Animals.

Animal Rights in Spiritualism – Newsletter 2012.

Dedicated to Clive Morris, Jamie Bunce, Enemy Phillips and Robert Yorke who played special parts in raising awareness of the abuse and also the spirituality of those dear creatures we share our world with.

Hello Everybody and Season’s Greetings,

Most will now have heard that the the badger cull, wrongly thought necessary to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis, will now not go ahead, at least until next year. However, we must be ready to fight any recommence and a good site to check for such news is http:www.brianmay.com It is also useful to know that The Observer newspaper published a letter, signed by prominent scientists, claiming that the disease would be increased were the cull to go ahead.

On a dark but more humorous note, Albert Gould, our Oxford contact, who lives near the first area to have been granted a licence to cull badgers, informed me that activists had been warned that, should they try to sabotage the event, one of the legal charges that could be brought against them was one of “disturbing the badgers” ??!!!

Round the Areas.

Let us begin by sending our heartfelt thoughts to Melody and Kate Morris in Essex , on the passing of Clive, on December 10^th, last year. A dedicated and inspiring supporter of A.R.I.S., Clive best described himself as Astrologer Extraordinaire, with his thought- provoking charts relating to planetary rule of individual animal and vegetable species. A lways a willing helper , we will sadly miss him but I’m certain he’ll be working for animals in the Spirit World.

Our lightworking circle here in Chesterfield, seems to be developing toward animal/ human spirit rescue while Patrick’s talks/films on the effects of the vegan diet in the treatment of disease have directly helped some who attended the events and benefited Hillside Animal Sanctuary and the Sea Shepherd through donations we collected there and on the leafleting stalls.

During the summer, Therese McElwee in Surrey led a group to pray for abused animals while Lorraine Drake in Devon, has been busy with campaign work for the ‘Uncaged’ anti-vivisection group.

Simone Phillips, who has been an essential help over the years with the technical side of the website has recently informed me that her cat, Enemy, has passed over. Simone, a true Spiritualist, is coping well with this in the knowledge that Enemy is now free of pain and in a place of love , light and happy cat ‘hours’. When we truly trust in survival of the spirit, it is easier to bear such passings by opening our hearts to those desperate to greet us instead of mourning, for too long, the loss of their outer shell.

This year seems to have flown. It appears to have manifested itself as a year of karmic payment, with issues to do with the ‘Hillsborough Disaster’ and the late Jimmy Saville’s alleged abuse of children now being seen in a new light by the authorities.

It is interesting to note that most who commit violence towards human children and adults, also have a history of cruelty to animals, starting in their childhood. Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler, who killed thirteen women, used to trap animals in boxes then shoot arrows through them. It is also said that those who use violence towards animals are five times more likely to have been arrested for crimes against humans.

So, we must ask ourselves, “What does this say about those who have been caught on undercover film, systematically tormenting and beating animals in slaughterhouses, farms, circuses and laboratories?” The link between the two should surely be checked by those official bodies dealing with crime rates .

For more information on this subject go to the Google link “The Link: Cruelty to Animals and Violence towards People.”

Speaking of cruelty to animals and that of vivisection in particular, do those of you who have supported A.R.I.S. from its beginning remember the article about .Jamie the Beagle who escaped further suffering in a laboratory when , upon its closure, he was lucky enough to be sent to a sanctuary ? Although still in the body, this traumatised dog communicated with his new ‘mum’, A.R.I.S. Member, Ruby Bunce, through an international medium. After giving heart-rending information regarding his time as an experiment, his accurate descriptions of his new home environment and comforts, so lovingly given by Ruby, were powerful evidence of animal love, intelligence, integrity and communication.

Sadly, Jamie passed over in July. I’m sure, as a figurehead of our group, you would all want to join with me in sending loving thoughts not only to Jamie in Spirit but to Ruby who cared for him over the years . Both Ruby and her sister, Rita are now in their eighties and having helped look after ten cats, Rita is still able to stay outside late into the evening , feeding all the needy wild and stray creatures.

Let us honour Jamie’s survival and progression in spirit by dedicating Part One of the following article by another devoted supporter and animal communicator, to his memory:

WHY SHOULDN’T WE COMMUNICATE WITH ANIMALS? DISCUSS

by Maggie Keynes

People have brought animals into their surroundings for millennia; firstly hunting them for meat and clothing, then “domesticating” them as livestock, working animals and companions. We are surrounded by wild animals and birds, and some of them are fortunate enough to be given suitable food by those who accept that so much of animals’ habitats have been destroyed and wish to redress the balance a little. The animals and birds recognise this, often appearing just before feeding time, and sometimes becoming quite familiar, as much as their wild heritage will allow. Having studied animal communication for some years, I know that each animal is an individual spirit, and just like us, they survive physical death. Animals who have gone to Spirit before us, and whom we have loved in life will be there to meet us when we pass over, along with our dear friends and relatives. Animals who have never been close to us will join their own kindred spirits, but each as an individual. I do not subscribe to the idea of “group souls”, meaning that insects for instance, have only one spirit between them (!) Everyone living in this amazing world is a spirit having a physical existence, and when the body is no longer able to survive, that spirit lives for ever; as mediums we can communicate with them, and each spirit can communicate with another if they so wish. Remember “free will” also applies in the Spirit world.

No doubt we all know someone who talks to their animals. Do animals understand our language? Of course they do, how else would they respond? They understand many of our words through repetition, followed by kind action, the important ones being “food”, “walk” and “I love you”; not to mention the word “Vet”! How many animals (especially cats) with a veterinary appointment suddenly happen to go missing just before they are due to be taken, only to reappear when the relevant time has passed? Many vets understand this, and often hold “first come, first serve” appointments.

Animals communicate with us, too (hence the missed vet appointments!). They are watching us all the time to see what we are going to do next, and I believe they also pick up our thoughts very easily, even when they are dozing. The renowned author, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, has written a book entitled: “Dogs who know when their owners are coming home (and other unexplained powers of animals)”, ISBN 978-0-09-925587-1. This book gives an amazing insight on how dogs, cats, horses, birds and other animals are so tuned-in to energy-waves of the natural world they “pick up” telepathically not only our thoughts, but the thoughts of other people, other animals, and imminent events: for instance, earthquakes and other dangers, especially air-strikes during the war years. Many of you will have seen that wonderful cartoon drawing – author unknown – where a person is sending the thought to his dog, who is just a couple of metres away: “Come here”, and similarly, the dog is replying: “No”!

Many people believe that thoughts create a vibration in the web of the Universal energies which surround us, and these vibrations can be accessed, especially if we (and animals) are in that frame of mind, often called Alpha, which can be translated as “relaxed concentration”. For instance, an animal in trouble will send out signals of distress, and there are many instances of an injured, mistreated or lost animal being discovered because “I just felt drawn to that area”. As Spiritualists of course, we are also aware that the Spirit world will intervene in a positive way, if asked.

I remember once being ready to move house and my Siamese cat had somehow escaped outside, no doubt because he knew he was about to be transported to another home and wanting to investigate his rather large countryside-territory one last time, he was certainly not within calling distance. Having searched for what seemed ages, I sent up a desperate plea to the Universe, to Spirit and to him, visualising him returning quickly, and by the safest route possible. He did, within ten minutes! Now, I know my thoughts were received, as I had been told a long time before by one of the local farmers that my cat often visited his property well over half a mile away, much too far away for my voice to be heard.

Another time, another of my cats was very ill with a stomach tumour, and I had taken him to the vet, who subsequently rang me to offer the advice that my cat should be euthanased whilst he was under anaesthetic. Sadly I agreed, as no amount of healing or veterinary treatment would have saved him. About two weeks later, I was sitting quietly with his feline friend, and was suddenly aware of a sensation of immeasurable sadness, an emotion without words or tears invading my senses, so powerful, that I turned to look at my cat, who was staring at me. I realised this emotion was coming from him; he was mourning the absence of his dearest friend, and this bereft little cat was communicating the desolation of his loss to me, asking me in all his sorrow not only to help him cope, but to understand his grief.

So you see, by communicating with our animals, we can help them not only to be safe, but to be able to assist each other in times of distress, and allow them to understand that we as humans are “on their side” as it were. Of course, we should not burden them too much with all our own emotional baggage; that would just be so unfair to them, but to know we can ask them to empathise with our ups and downs, just as we do theirs, is a wonderful way of interacting with them, for believe me – they know us well.

_______________________

Part Two of Maggie’s article teaches us how to communicate with our animals and will be printed in next year’s issue. Please note – part 1 as well as 2 may not be published by any other media. Please  Contact Maggie through A.R.I.S.

It would appear that animals are not the only living beings we may learn to communicate with but plants also have a lot to say to us, under their breath, so to speak.

This captivating subject was aired in Tony Ortzen’s editorial in the issue of Two Worlds Magazine. Here is an excerpt from it. I’m sure you will be touched by the sensitivity our leafy friends in their empathy and sympathy for others:

“ MANY years ago, a fascinating book came out Called “The Secret Life of Plants,” amongst those featured was Cleve Backster, an interrogation specialist with the CIA. One of the book’’s claims is that plants may be sentientdespite their lack of a nervous systemand a brain.

Mr Backster conducted research which led him to believe that plants can communicate with other life forms. After attaching sensors to plants, he discovered that they reacted to harm, such as cutting their leaves, and to harmful thoughts of humans in proximity to them.

He also found that plants were aware of each other, mourned the death of anything –– even bacteria killed when boiling water is poured down a sink –– and strongly disliked people who kill plants carelessly or during scientific research.”

All this recently came to mind when a “Sunday Times” article reported that scientists have discovered plants can respond to sound and even generate their own clicking noises.

“Researchers at Bristol University who carried out experiments with corn,” wrote Hannah Summers, “detected “clicking coming from the roots. They used a loudspeaker to play a continuous noise at a similar frequency to the clicks and found that the plants grew towards it. The clicking sounds are inaudible to humans and detectable only with lasers.”

Biology professor Daniel Robert said, “These very noisy little clicks have the potential to constitute a channel of communication between the roots.””

At the end of his article, Tony finished with:

“Fascinating stuff. But as a virtual vegan, I’’m now a little concerned that a tomato, cucumber, potato, pepper or peach might screech as I bite into them……”

It didn’t stop him putting together the following gastronomically delightful article for our newsletter, though:

Tony’s Trattoria by Tony Ortzen.

A COUPLE of months ago, I celebrated working for the Spiritualist movement full-time for forty years. One of the greatest aspects about Spiritualism is that as well as offering demonstrable evidence of human survival after death, this same vital principle applies to animals, too. Spirit cannot be destroyed and is the very essence of life and so-called death.

Sadly, very few Spiritualists are vegan or vegetarian. Strange, is it not, how so many of our colleagues will weep buckets when a much-loved pet passes on, then settle down for a ham sandwich or beef casserole? A vegan diet does not automatically make one more spiritual, but it does engender great warmth, love, compassion and concern for all forms of life.

To that end, here’s some great news. Tesco has recently expanded its range of Free From products, which now includes various vegan goodies. At my local store, for instance, one can now find Tesco vegan hard Cheddar cheese, spreadable Cheddar cheese and vegan cream cheese (one with garlic, the other with chilli). And that’s not all. The chain is also promoting its own brand of vegan crème caramel (four to a pack), individual vegan jellies (with some fresh raspberries in the middle) and some new flavour soya yogurts.

Also look out for soya milks containing almonds, hazelnuts and rice. On top of that, my nearest Tesco is now stocking a fabulous vegan lemon cheesecake. Found in the freezer section, it’s made by Food Heaven. See www.lovefoodheaven.com Before I forget, a terrific site worth visiting is www.veggiestuff.com which offers a broad range of vegan food by post. Sent overnight, chilled items are kept cool by some ice cube-like strips.

Both the farming and dairy industries are incredibly cruel and callous. Type Day old chicks minced alive into Google and you’ll find some truly terrible stories of the brutality inflicted on totally innocent sentient creatures. As we know, calves are torn from their mothers so humans can drink the milk which is rightfully theirs. Similarly, type Calves killed into Google for an array of shameful and sickening statistics.

With Christmas Day fast approaching comes the annual problem of how to decide upon an easy to prepare but delicious vegan lunch. Look no further! Here’s a suggestion from a fictional Tony’s Trattoria. It’s easy on the pennies, but great on the palate. All the ingredients are readily available from major supermarkets or health food shops. Aprons on? Hands washed? Let’s get cracking in the kitchen… and go easy on the sherry whilst cooking!

Parboil some peeled, chopped lengthways sweet potatoes. Once drained, place in the oven covered with olive oil, lemon juice and brown sugar. Slice a tin of Nuttolene (available from Holland and Barrett, for instance) down the middle, so the two halves resemble a half moon shape.

Drizzle some olive oil over this peanut-based vegan loaf along with a sprig or two of fresh rosemary and pop in the oven. Nuttolene is already cooked, so only takes about 20-30 minutes to brown on top, and is nice served with some redcurrant sauce. You can also put some already boiled parsnips in the oven to roast gently to a golden glow.

Fresh Brussels sprouts are transformed if, just before serving, you add some chopped chestnuts and vegan margarine, then grate nutmeg over the top. Garlic mushrooms are also easy. Merely wipe clean some button mushrooms and gently fry along with lashings of fresh garlic. To complete the festive feast, how about some red cabbage and apple? Most supermarkets sell this ready prepared. Meanwhile, to add another splash of colour, the previous day you could always cook carrots and swede together, mash with vegan margarine and reheat on Christmas Day with some tongue-tingling freshly milled black pepper on top.

As for stuffing, many supermarkets sell a wide range of vegan varieties, which are easy to jazz up with a few pieces of chopped apricot, diced walnuts, lemon zest and extra herbs, such as thyme.

Now to my secret recipe for vegan gravy. Stir a few teaspoons of cornflour and olive oil over a gentle heat for two to three minutes. Gradually add some made up vegan stock, a little Marmite and soya sauce, stirring all the time. At the last moment, add some of the retained water from the Brussels sprouts and parsnips along with some dried mixed herbs.

To pudding. Many shop-bought Christmas puddings are entirely vegan. Once heated up, light with brandy, then serve with vegan single cream, sherry sauce or vegan Swedish Glace vanilla ice cream.

So there you have it – a wonderful Christmas cruelty-free feast with no death or destruction. Not for us the turkey raised in concentration camp-type conditions or many other forms of animal-kind which have been reared in equally appalling circumstances and then summarily executed. Let’s all have a wonderful Christmas and peaceful New Year along with the hope that an ever-increasing number of people will eschew a meat-based diet and go for compassionate cooking on each and every day of the coming year and far, far beyond…

Tony Ortzen edits “Two Worlds,” Spiritualism’s 76-page independent monthly magazine, which was founded in 1887. Two free copies are available to download at www.twoworldsmag.co.uk If you would like a sample copy sent by post, please e-mail your name and address to tortzen@globalnet.co.uk or write to “Two Worlds,” PO Box 55307, London SE16 6WW. An annual UK postal subscription is £22.95. If you decide to take out a subscription, please mention you are an ARIS supporter and “Two Worlds” will give you fifteen months for the price of twelve. (This offer only applies to new subscribers.)

Pat’s Points: Dog Vaccination by Patrick Rattigan. N.D.

‘I have been breeding for 47 years and showing for 37 years. You could not give me a dog if I knew it had been inoculated.’ Mr G Messenger Fauna Mag. 11 The UK dog cancer plague is far more out of control, per head of population, than even human cancer occurrence. Figures from the Canine Health Census showed that, of those dogs whose owners had reported cancer amongst their animals, 31 percent occurred within three months of vaccination. Of those with a cancerous tumour or other growth at the vaccination site, 67 percent were within three months. Other three month vaccine/disease correlations included: diarrhoea – 68%, allergies – 55%, auto-immune diseases – 55%, colitis – 57%, epilepsy – 65%, loss of appetite – 80%, nervousness – 55%, skin problems – 46%vomiting – 72%, weight-loss – 63%, behavioural problems – 55%, encephalitis – 75%, kidney damage – 40%, lameness – 52%, liver damage – 47%rear-end paralysis – 64%, nasal discharges – 84% …

Honest vets speak out –

“The first thing that we must change with routine vaccinations is the myth that vaccines are not harmful. Veterinarians and animal guardians have come to realise that they are not protecting animals from disease by annual vaccinations but, in fact, are destroying the health and immune systems of these same animals they love and care for.” Charles E Loops DVM Pittsboro NC.

“I believe that poor diet and vaccinations are responsible for most chronic diseases. Acute ‘diseases’ are discharges of toxins and energies from the body… By preventing these discharges, vaccines result in chronic disorders. Injected vaccines by-pass normal defences.. They implant mutated micro-organisms, preservatives, foreign animal proteins .. directly into the system… vaccine labels say they are to be given to healthy animals only. If they were truly healthy they would not need them. Those who are not healthy are the most severely damaged.”

Russell Swift DVM Fort Lauderdale FL

“The idea of annual vaccines is really questionable… .. there is no basis for the practice. There are a lot of chronic conditions that develop some time after.. chronic ear infections, digestive problems, seizures, skin problems and behavioural problems. Stephen R Blake DVM San Diego CA

“The increasing problems with allergic, immunological and chronic debilitating disease seen today have been attributed by some veterinarians and scientists to introduction of modified live viral vaccines about 20 years ago. The MLV vaccines… multiply in the host and shed viral vaccine viral agents into the surroundings.” Jean Dodds DVM Santa Monica CA.

“The most common problems I see are that are directly related to vaccines… are ear and skin conditions.. chronic discharge and itching .. behaviour problems … fearfulness.. aggression … these begin shortly after vaccination and are exacerbated after every vaccine.

I see the overall health and longevity of animals deteriorating. The bodies of most animals have a tremendous capacity to detoxify poisons but they do have a limit .. we overwhelm the immune system with toxins from vaccines poor quality foods, insecticides, environmental toxins.” Pat Bradley DVM Conway AR.

“Routine vaccinations are probably the worst thing that we do to our animals. They cause all types of illnesses .. there is no need for annual vaccinations .. they definitely cause chronic diseases. As a homoeopath it is almost impossible to cure an animal without first addressing the problems vaccines have caused.”

Christina Chambreau DVM Sparks MD.

“In an ideal world you probably wouldn’t use vaccines at all : you’d use nutrition and perhaps homoeopathic nosodes. If an animal already has problems ,, these problems are contributed to by vaccines. So I don’t want to give them any more.” Michael Lemmon DVM Renton WA

” .. our society is is in the grip of a health panacea .. fuelled by the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Vaccinations have become the modern day equivalent of leeching .. introducing foreign material via subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is extremely upsetting to the body’s defence system. In response …. there have been increased autoimmune disease, epilepsy, neoplasia, .. behavioural problems in small animals …cancer, respiratory disorders and auto immune disorders have escalated alarmingly.” Mike Kohn DVM Madison WI

” .. vaccinations have the ability to block response to a .. remedy … vaccination of the parent is sufficient to confer chronic vaccine disease on the offspring .. Vaccinosis .. results in mental, emotional and physical changes that can .. be a permanent condition .. because .. of repeated vaccination acute diseases such as canine distemper have changed form to appear as a great variety of chronic diseases. Students are told how wonderful vaccines are .. the attitudes .. people now have about vaccinations are the same ones people used to have about bleedings. The prominent doctors, all the important authorities, agreed they were absolutely beneficial We look back with amazement that so many people bought the idea for so long .. we will be doing the same thing some day when we look back at the practice of vaccination.” Richard H Ptitcairn DVM PhD

Animal and human vaccines are “safety-tested” on animals : as experimental results cannot be extrapolated from one animal to another of the same species, let alone from rat to dog or monkey to man, the tests are totally irrelevant. The vaccines contain a wide range of toxins : animal-derived proteins and viruses, mercury, gelatine, formaldehyde, aluminium, carbolic acid, antibiotics, squalene .. this is injected directly beneath the skin, by-passing most of the immune system. Because of the ingredients and the method of administration, nothing is in the same class as a destroyer of animal and human health, as vaccination.

Living Within a New Era of Understanding.

by The Cosmic Brotherhood,

through the mediumship of

Richard Marshall.

As we have said before, great change is about to befall the Earth and it is imperative for humans to change old ideas, as well as habits.. The brotherhood of not only humans but of all living things is a pre-requisite that shall bring forth a new spiritual dimension for all concerned. The time is fast approaching whereby all who share the Earth shall be joined together as brothers and sisters, each acting as a tiny link attached to a very large chain, anchored within the very depths of the Earth. All it takes to break this connection is for one link to fail at its weakest point then what follows next is chaos as, gradually, in turn, others begin to fail. You see, the strength of this chain is governed by equally strong links within its fabric. However, all its strength shall weaken as events take hold. This is why we must act now to strengthen, not only our bond with each other but also our connection throughout the universe. It would be a false notion, would it not, if we were to somehow believe that life could not possibly exist elsewhere in the universe, other than on Earth. You see, as the vibrationary rate of the Earth heightens to accommodate change, a new era of understanding shall be the order of the day, where wars shall cease as a consequence, where the intolerence of religion and the indifference of man shall no longer exist within this environment. A new dawn of understanding is coming and it is the responsibility of each individual soul to prepare themselves for this event…

Other worlds are watching to see how humans prepare themselves and to what degree they adapt to this new force. You see, those living in these other worlds, whilst declining to help in the current climate of the Earth, due to its lapse into degradation and chaos, shall, none the less, assist humans once this event of major proportions has taken place. It shall not be the first time that this has happened during the life-cycle of the Earth Spirit. You see, in ages past, when other great occurrences have befallen your world, other beings from elsewhere in the solar system have come into contact with humans to lend a helping hand. How do you think that, at certain times in Earth’s history, there were societies that flourished far beyond all others? Many of these societies were more technologically advanced, for their age, than those who dwell upon the Earth today. The reason for their demise, however, lay within themselves. Each time these visitors come, they teach us the true art of knowledge and as a consequence,the experience is extremely beneficial to all concerned. When these highly intelligent beings leave us, once more, to our own devices, over much period of time, the knowledge given to benefit all becomes de-based and corrupted beyond all recognition of its origins. Yet, despite this, they shall return once more, so that we may build a new world, as we let go of the past.

All Life is Sacred.

If I was an animal, a tree, or a child,

I could be free. I could run wild.

The body is different. The soul is the same.

We all feel joy and sadness and pain.

The animal and baby have spiritual eyes

Reflecting God’s beauty, just like a blue sky

But humans do capture, distort and corrupt

The beauty of nature, a babe, or a pup

Torturing, murdering, selling for greed,

Devouring, as they greedily feed

On blood, on flesh, on sinew and brain.

On this fair planet, evil does reign.

‘Veggies’ campaign to stop all killing

But where’s the help? How many are willing

To save a baby, to save a child

And all God’s animals, tame or wild?

Karmic lessons are on their way!

Too late to change? Let’s try, anyway!

Communities form and grow their food.

Will man change his heart and mood?

When all life unites, we will be free,

When thinking of ‘you’ instead of ‘me’

Interplanetary rescues may take place

But only of a Spiritual race…

The tiny few –

Of me? Of you?

Anon.

A Message Regarding Animal Abusers,

channelled to A.R.I.S.

from the One Earth Mission guides

through the mediumship of

Mandel Rheems.

Let us recognise that with any great saint there also lies a great sinner. Where there is truth, we will also find lies. This is a dual universe. But, if we speak from the truth and the wisdom within, without judgement at all, we will be accepted more fully, than if we alienate ourselves from the evil-doers. If we can surmount their evil, then they will have no power. They will understand, through the power that is released in our words and the love and forgiveness we offer them.

As we speak for those beings that are so unfortunately suffering at the hands of the evil-doers, the only way that we can free them from pain and set them free forever is through forgiveness, mercy and truth. So, let the few words we say be a means to help us come together in that great task ahead of liberating the beloved animals, the plants and minerals and all living beings of nature including the elemental forces, from the bondage and abuse of ignorance and fear.

We all bless you from those who are committed to this Mission, One Earth and if we can aid further in this project, then we are here to offer guidance in humbleness and truth..

_______________________

Animal and Human Healing List.

Please let us know if you have an addition to the list of names below or if you wish to be remove from it.

Sharon Jones, Sian Winstanley, Sue fox, Carole Neale-Eyre, Lucy Rattigan,Tony Ortzen, & Ruby Bunce and sister, Rita, Leisha & Philip Yates, Philip’s mother, Mike & Oriel Blissett, Peter Spillet, Pat Taylor, , Ayala, Barnaby, Solo, Hetta, Janet Williams, Pamela Williams, Sylvia & Brian Lydyard, Judy, Denise Bottal’s mum, Shirley Mahoney, Socks, , Alison Nichols, Sylvia Murphy, Phyllis White, Shadow, , Phyllis James, Joan Birch & friends, Roger Raynes, Betsy, Poppy, Lucy, Margaret Towler & Kevin, her cat, Vivienne Brocklehurst, Gina Szwelicka, A.J., Sian Winstanley, the Alan Berry family, Bangers, Don & Tracie Gwillim, Annie, Dalcin Stacey, P.R., Pina Marsala, Patricia Thompson, Lucy, Dr. Carling, Albert Gould, , Richard Marshall, Simone & Gerard Phillips, Juliet Gale and cat, Monty, Charlotte Orr, Margaret Slack, Elaine.Hall, Mary & Zoe Ashton, Jennifer Preston, Vivien White, Kate Berridge, Pippin and all in need.

We Are Greyhounds.

By Alistair Hamilton.

We are greyhounds who served our masters well.

We won many a race and made their bank balances swell.

Now many of our kind have left those racing days far behind

With younger dogs taking our place, we have long had our final race.

Our working life is over and times are really hard.

We are feeling down, here, in the knacker’s yard.

So, next time you place a bet, just think of what we do.

We are greyhounds and we die to entertain you!

____

NB: Every year tens of thousands of greyhounds are injured, abused, neglected, starved and killed.

“The average retirement age for a greyhound is 3-4 years old and they can live for 16 years. Every year, 10,000 dogs leave registered racing, but the Retired Greyhound Trust only organises homes for just over 3,000. Some of the remaining 7,000 dogs may find good homes, but others may be drowned, poisoned or shot. “

Animal Aid.

For further information,Contact Animal Aid at The Old Chapel
Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent. TN9 1AW Tel: +44 (0)1732 364546 or email +44 (0) 1732 364546

We offer many thanks to Alistair for benefiting A.R.I.S from the sale of the first and second editions of his poetry, the total raised being £190.59.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who help our group, whether it be of practical or moral support .

In the past, Kate Berridge, who blessed our newsletter with her animal communication stories, is one such supporter. Sadly, she lost her partner, Robert Yorke, on the 26^th April, this year. To help her recovery through work, Kate, a versatile healer, hopes to run a course on Celtic Healing techniques in Nottingham from February to October of next year.. 

With Christmas coming up, readers may be interested in handmade cards, specially designed for the individual preference. A.R.I.S. Supporter, Nicky Low, will create beautiful specimens . Purchasers can choose the theme, whether it be animals, angels or something more unusual.

Churches.

At this point, I would ask that if anyone wishes to have a free batch of our “Aims & Policy” and “What the Guides Say…” leaflets for their local Spiritualist church, to get in touch with me at H.Q. I do send them to churches/centres anyway, but it is good to have an A.R.I.S. contact as go-between. ‘Churches’ do not have to join A.R.I.S, only to read our message. Among those ones who have supported A.R.I.S. at one time or another are Clarkson St. , and Whitham Road, Sheffield, both displaying our leaflets and providing healers for our fund-raising event.

Ethics of Crystal Purchase– update.

Further to my comments in last year’s newsletter regarding the use of our planet’s crystals, I have since gathered some interesting information helpful to those wishing to purchase new crystals for their spiritual and healing work.

Upon visiting my local ‘New Age’ “Aladdin’s Cave” or rather Curious Goods, 4, The Shambles, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, owned by vegetarian, Jonathon Kudibal , I was informed that most crystals sold are a by-product of copper mining and would be pulped if there weren’t the demand for them from buyers like himself. He told me that Lemurian crystals are also the ones to buy if there are any concerns regarding the welfare of our mother, Earth.

If you live in the area or are visiting the Peak District on holiday, do pop in to the above. It is a shop filled with natural scents , truly beautiful gifts, spiritual books, healing music and a wonderful atmosphere. A mine of information on spiritual matters, Jonny is always willing to answer any questions according to his experience.

Donkeys.

Because of our usual focus, quite rightly, on the cruelty of the turkey business prior to Christmas, we sometimes forget that beast of so many burdens throughout the ages ; a beloved feature of the church crib – the donkey. Along with the Ox , this animal was , according to Christian history, blessed to share the birth-place of the Christ. Yet, during this celebratory season, both creatures continue to be cruelly exploited, as they are all year round, no more so than in the case of the donkeys of ‘The Holy Land’.

Here, in the land where Jesus was born, these noble beings are callously abandoned by the wayside when they can no longer carry heavy loads or serve their masters, Jewish and Palestinian alike. Here, they may die of thirst or be tortured by sadistic youths, who have been known to cut off their ears.

Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land, is a charity set up by a British woman who now lives there with her Israeli husband. Lucy Fensom has not only set up sanctuary for these dear animals but educates their owners as to their proper care. Lucy also has a team who give basic help and advice on treatment when the donkeys are ill. She is struggling to keep this project going financially and without her, there would be a hopeless situation.

For this reason, her charity is on the A.R.I.S. ‘Special’ list and was the one to benefit from our stall takings at The Imperial Rooms, Matlock on the 10^th November, as part of the “Xmas Feelgood Fayre” organised by Caron Jones.

We can only help in these ways which sometimes seem inadequate, considering the enormous task of ridding animal cruelty in all its aspects but “every little helps” as the saying goes. Therefore, if this cause pulls at your heartstrings at this time of year, do contact: Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land, (U.K.address) The Old Dairy, Springfield Farm, Lewes Road, Skaynes Hill, Haywards heath, West Sussex, RH17 7NG. Tel: 01444831172

Speaking of sanctuaries, I do hope any supporters who ordered books from Hugletts Farm Animal Sanctuary received them. I say this because I have still not received mine, a year later, the reason given that they were lost in the post. The last I heard, Hugletts were putting in a claim for the lost books at the post office.

“The animal shall not be measured by man.

In a world older and more complex than ours,

they move finished and complete,

gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost

or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.

They are not underlings; they are other nations caught , with ourselves, in the net of life and time; fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the Earth.”

Henry Boston.

Elissa Rattigan A.R.I.S. 1, Quarry Bank Rd. ,Chesterfield S41 0HH.

Tel: 01246 230474 email : elissarattigan@hotmail.com Website. : www.arisgroup.org

Animal Rights in Spiritualism  – Newsletter 2010

Dedicated to Beano Winder , Storm McElwee & Cassie Murphy – dogs, Amy Reeves – sheep, Ashley, Jodie & Hayley Reeves – geese. Also, campaigners, Margaret Woolford & Desmond Mitchell. All now in spirit.

A fruitful  year to you all,

               Some of you may have noticed the evolving face of our group, A.R.I.S., as we focus our attention on the world-wide web.  This does not mean that we aren’t just as dedicated to serving our non-internet supporters in the same way as usual. It does mean that we may reach those parts of the world where our message is needed most.  Therefore, there is now a forum and chat room linked to our website, whereby people can post comments and questions relating to our policy and aims.

We also have support from Irene Pedley,  a spiritual medium, here, in the North, who, although not part of our  A.R. movement, will bring her abilities to our venture, as we plan for an  online development circle. With the airing of  important documents such as  “The Essene Humane Gospels and the ‘Silver Birch’ teachings”, alone, I think we have our work cut out for the foreseeable future.

However, an integral part of this project involves groups of guides who have pledged their support for our mission and have something helpful, as well as informative, to say.  They will answer any questions, deemed appropriate, through their mediums, Richard Marshall, our own A.R.I.S. member and Mandel Rheems of the ‘One Earth Vision’ community.

This newsletter hereby publishes  universal messages brought to us from both these groups of guides, who, I am pleased to inform you, have personally committed themselves to helping our cause, wherever they can.  The fact that both communications, this time round, involve the evolved Jesus, in no way means that A.R.I.S. has a special leaning towards Christian Spiritualism or any other spiritual doctrine.   All that matters is that our cause is championed through spirit teaching of truth , compassion and righteousness, regarding all life forms.

Excerpts from the

Sananda & Ezra,

communication,

as channelled through the mediumship of

Mandel Rheems.

   Greetings.  Sananda here, with Ezra by my side.

   To take away the life of another that we may live, to some may seem worthy, but to us, we see as barbaric – of the dark ages.  We have no right, as a human race, to take upon our shoulders, action, thought and deed to seemingly believe that we are a superior species that can exploit and use other species for our own ends.  Incorrectly, humanity has chosen that path, simply to be nourished, seemingly, by animal flesh.  Of course, there are other aspects of this life-cycle, such as plants and other life-forms, but blood letting is a barbaric way that even in religious movements, animal sacrifice is so often offered in the name of the gods, or for power, such as in Voodoo and other religions of the darker areas of the psyche of humanity.

   ..The blood-letting, the barbaric way of living and apparent belief that you have to torture and sacrifice other beings and that compensation would come to humanity through this means, is indeed based in much greed and selfishness of the human race.

  O.K. I introduce myself as Sananda, a high aspect, who seeks to bring the Christ power, wisdom and upliftment to a fallen humanity, to bring forth knowledge and understanding of what we call the beast of burden and all the harm through the thousands upon thousands of years we have meted out to our fellow brethren of the animal species.  For so long , suffering has been continuing. The karmic implications of this are indeed tremendous.  Mankind, humanity, must grow up, must grow to understand that the way of brutality, the way of abuse cannot but bring the negative karmic repercussions.

  We, among many, of those who come to serve in this mission, seek to work by the side of all those to bring a voice to the voiceless, the suffering of our fellow brethren in the darker realms, which our Earth has been a part of for so long now.  We must work together on many levels to bring forth true change for the better for our animal brethren, for they are most closest to us in the scheme of things and it is barbaric to continue to exploit and abuse these, our beloved animals and the spirit of the animal kingdom.

   I will now allow Ezra to say a few words.

   Ezra:  Greetings. Thank you, Sananda.

  ..So much there is this thought of human suffering. It is looked on as a deeper suffering than life around us.  When we consider a cancer victim who is using therapy that has been operated on animals for to achieve, eating a ham sandwich yet praying to God to be healed, or we pray for that individual as we enjoy our sandwich of chicken, does it make sense that humanity has not learnt the basic lessons of the force of will and hierarchy to consider that we can take the life of other life-forms, that is not so important as the sickness that mankind carries, so much because of misdeeds of the past. 

    Of course, we wish to ease all suffering but all life is one and it cannot change that value of where we stand.  In the spiritual dimensions, the idea of suffering has become obsolete.  …The divine does not wish for us to continue to go through these cycles of suffering and peace.  Peace is the absolute.  All we need to do is to begin to live in peace with ourselves and all life around us, then  we will begin to grow and blossom.

  As we approach 2012..,.  I would say, as you approach 2012 , those upon the Earth, they look around us and say,  “How can things get worse?”  But it will, but not to the degree of the destruction that is prophesied by so many. There will be changes but they can only be slow  but lasting changes.  That is the awakening in the consciousness of humanity.  If we can reach the heart of humanity and convince… and can convince   those in power to the way of compassion and love and the sacredness of life, then we will begin to see positive changes and this movement has already begun to a large extent through the use of what we call the internet and mass media.

  We need positive visions not negative images.  We need to introduce people to the way of love.  We need to show the way by example of how we can live with a meat-free diet.   We need to show individuals that the suffering of the animals  species and animal kingdom can only bring the degradation of the human spirit, the degradation of that which is the very essence of our natures, for all life is one and we from the higher realms recognize this and work to help humanity and all life on Earth.

    .. So, where we can show the way forward, for many, that life is worth fighting for, is worth speaking out for and those who suffer indignities, fear and strife, whether it be human, animal, plant or mineral, all life must be respected and cared for, then we will find the cures naturally from the herbs and other means and also through spiritual guidance channels. Channellers, such as Mandel and others, will be able to bring forth information of new cures, certain treatments through the crystals and other means. Colour healing, reiki, other forms of spiritual healing – all these are possible to go further to develop but they are at the early stages, for we are beginning to learn of our powers that they must in the end be used for the good.

Copyright Mandel Rheems 2009.

Over the years, in the newsletter, readers may have noticed poetry by A.R.I.S. member, Alistair Hamilton.  I am delighted to announce his publication of many of his works in a book entitled, “Reflections for Mind, Body and Spirit.”

Alistair will kindly donate any profits from sales of this work to Animal Rights in Spiritualism.  A big “Thank you.” On behalf of all of us in the group, Alistair!

A Turkey’s tale.

By Alistair Hamilton.

“ I’ve never hurt anyone, so how come I’m in this mess,

Outlook bleak and filled with distress,

Cooped up in this shed and feeling sore –

Not just me but many, many more?

We never see daylight

And we all look a sight.

Christmas comes but once a year

But for all us turkeys it brings no cheer,

Waiting, day by day, to receive our fate,

‘til one day we land on someone’s plate.”

Year in , year out, the slaughter goes on

And will continue ‘til something is done.

The same goes for our other domestic friends.

Will you humans ever stop the trends?

Only then will love prevail,

To give a happy ending to the turkey’s tale

   Liverpool contact, Susan Taylor, is now producing  home-made, cruelty-free, eco-friendly, candles.  For purchasing information, please phone or write to Susan.  Her details may be found on the ‘Area Contacts’ page of this newsletter.

      Healing List.

Please let us know if you have an addition to the list of names below.

Tony  Ortzen, Jamie & Ruby Bunce, Rita, Leisha & Philip Yates, Philip’s mother, Mike & Oriel Blissett, Peter Spillet, Pat Taylor, Hawick Animal Friends, Ayala, Barnaby, Solo, Hetta, Janet Williams, Sylvia Lydgard, Judy, Denise Bottal’s mum, Shirley Mahoney, Socks, Kalyani’s mum, Alison Nichols, Sylvia Murphy, Phyllis White, Shadow, Colleen McDuling & her hamster, Phyllis James, Joan Birch & friends, Roger Raynes, Betsy, Poppy, Lucy, Margaret Wills, Margaret Towler and Kevin, her cat, Vivienne Brocklehurst, Lassie, Gina Szwelicka,  A.K., Lorraine Drake, Sian Winstanley, Lassie,  the Alan Berry family, Diane Kuhle & granddaughter, Carole Neale Eyre, Sylvia O’Neill, Bangers, Don  & Tracie Gwillim, Dyc Browning & dog, Annie. Dalcin Stacey, P.R., Pina Marsala,  Sylvia Murphy, Patricia Thompson, Lucy, Dr. Carling, Albert Gould, Mandel Rheems, Richard Marshall, Simone & Gerard Phillips and all in need

As we press on with our endeavours, we are assured that our spirit friends will guide Patrick’s “People for Natural Health” group (linked to the British Anti-vivisection Association) as it looks for premises in the North Midlands in which to hold a free, holistic cancer support centre.   Having appealed for other therapists to join in this effort, we are to hold a meeting aimed at gaining practical support, on Sunday, May 9^th in  Dronfield, Derbyshire.

At this centre, we will be able to display A.R.I.S. and other informative literature for people to browse through and take away, after receiving healing .

As part of this natural, non animal based health campaign, A.R.I.S. plans to hold events to raise money for animal sanctuaries and groups who need it the most. We  also will focus our attention on the medical research charities.  Here, we’ll highlight the amount of money received from gullible customers who frequent  shops used to raise funds for such research. Do these supporters know that their hard earned cash is then used to torture animals in order to bring about cures – cures, which we understand, cannot be found by those means?  Are they in any way aware of the futility of a science applied in this way and its effect on medical progress?  It is our job to make sure they are well informed and have recourse to the truth, along with holistic treatment for themselves and loved ones.

Patrick will now explain more fully why such  centres would be vital to the abolition of vivisection and to our sick nation’s health in :

Pat’s Points.

   An Early Day Motion, before Parliament, calling for a scientific evaluation of animal experiments with regard to human health, had, the last time I looked, attracted 46 signatures : this was after 3 months and out of a total of over 640 MPs.

Clearly, no such evaluation will take place, in the foreseeable future , and with very good reason : vivisection is, scientifically, total nonsense and no vivisection supporter would want the reality made available to a wide audience. This leaves the AV movement in an even bigger limbo than  usual.

The only way forward, as far as I am concerned, is the practical promotion of human-based therapies and the increased assault on the animal-based treatments, by comparison.

As “cancer research” is the flagship of vivisection, cancer treatment will be the focus. I intend to expand my free service to cancer sufferers and, I hope, to do this at a centre somewhere in North Derbys. – or wherever – irrespective of any “Cancer Act”.

The infamous 1939 Cancer Act, set up to protect The Cancer Business from attack by honest individuals, has been used to  prosecute people or shut down organisations, including the very successful Naturopathic Cancer Therapy Trust, run by my friend, the late Chris Ashton. Chris was a hospice volunteer who decided that a situation where no “rage, against the dying of the light” was standard practice, was not acceptable. Chris showed that there was a better way than the “cut, burn, poison, hospice, cemetery”  style of cancer management.

“Cancer Research” is the ultimate crime : simply because of the numbers involved.

Promoting therapies which kill the patient much faster than the disease does : the suppression of safe, effective treatments : the protection of industries, driving the cancer plague : the collection of billions of pounds/dollars to finance animal-torturing fraud and try to pass it off as research .. have resulted in countless millions of deaths of sentient beings.

Still we see the gigglies, in their pink bunny costumes doing their “Race for Life” for the £500 million-per-year “Cancer Research UK”

In the early 1930s, Dr Otto Warburg received a Nobel Prize – in the days when this meant something – for his work on cancer’s basic mechanism : simplified, cancer is an oxygen-deficiency disease. This is the basis for all successful cancer treatments, whether the therapists involved know it or not : remove the oxygen-inhibiting carcinogens : provide oxygen-rich therapy – alkalising nutrition etc : increase the oxygen metabolism capacity.

This needs to be done on all of the planes – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.

The Holistic approach to

the Cancer patient.

With a view to forming a support group for Nth. Derbys., an event with  film, talk & discussion is to be held at:  Gosforth Lodge, Cliffe Park, Calywhite Lane,  Dronfield  S18 2XP on Sunday May 9^th  1pm – 4 pm.

The nature of cancer: the work of Dr Otto Warburg, the “War on Cancer” and the naturopathic way, the vegan diet, ESSIAC, prevention ..FILM-extracts – Dr. Lorraine Day’s recovery from breast cancer   :  The Hoxsey treatment

ADMISSION FREE

Pat Rattigan

People for National Health

PO Box 73 CHESTERFIELD S41 0YZ

tel  (01246) 230474

email  hera@nemesisawake.com

Patrick Rattigan N.D. (1974)

WWW.PFNH.ORG

Who Are The Cosmic Brotherhood and What Reason Is There Behind These Communications ?

by

The Cosmic Brotherhood.

 through the mediumship of

 Richard Marshall.

   Well, let us begin with the question of our “brotherhood”.  You will no doubt have heard of the disciples of Jesus and this is  who we are and how we come to you.  As when on Earth, it has become our mission to speak to the hearts and minds of mankind as a whole.  We are simply intermediaries between God, the creator of all things and our dear friend, Jesus.  Our role, within the context of things received so far, is to draw a much wider audience into this domain, so that we may impart to you the knowledge required to enable humanity not only to progress spiritually, as we have done but also to give you the necessary tools  that will serve you well as you face that which is to come.

    Jesus, in his wisdom, has known for a long time that he is far better placed to help humanity now, than he ever could if he were to return amongst you.

   Before each communication is given, there is much to be discussed and all are open to suggestions or gentle persuasion.  We meet with Jesus on a regular basis and it is he who lays down the foundations for each communication that we give collectively.  Only when a concensus is reached where upon all are agreed on subject matter and wording, do we contact our medium with a request to make a written statement of our collective views and our opinions.  Our sole purpose is to engage and also, to debate with, souls now residing upon the Earth.  We wish to dissuade humanity from its constant selfishness towards those considered to be less than deserving.  It has also become necessary to repeatedly warn against inflicting suffering upon, not only the weak of your world but, more importantly, those without a voice.

   Great change shall soon be visited upon all who dwell upon the Earth and as a consequence, we need to work together, so that awareness shall be heightened, as a result.  A time of much confusion lies ahead.  So, what can be done to ease this transition?   The only way that this is to be achieved is through much effort and sacrifice.

   We must end our judgemental attitude towards others.  We must stop exploiting the Earth, including those that have no voice.  Those souls who, like us, abhor the mistreatment metered out to vast numbers of the world’s creatures, shall find it easier to adjust than most.  You see, to begin with, when a soul eats the flesh of an animal that has endured much suffering, as well as fear, before arriving on the dinner plate, that particular soul, with each mouthful partaken, will in fact be consuming that fear and suffering in large quantities.  The more regular the consumption of flesh, the more regular the dose of these unwanted, negative energies.  Why do you think that, in your world, many of those souls who eat the flesh of an animal, end up with physical ailments?  It is because they are a party to this suffering and, as a direct consequence of their lust for meat, a life has been taken that was not theirs to take in the first place.

   Many of your scientists, also, will be held to account for their behaviour toward their fellow brethren.  It is a sad fact, indeed, that, many souls working either in laboratories or in food production involving meat, enjoy their work so much, that they seem to derive much pleasure over the fact that they wield so much power on the matter of life and death.  This is why it is so important that there are others who do care and are willing to speak for the animals, despite difficulties.

   The task that we have been given is not an easy one.  We have a duty to all who will listen, to encourage them to change old habits as well as ways of thinking, because those souls who think only of themselves and who abuse that which God has created, shall suffer the consequences, unless they change their words and attitudes.   So, you see how important it is that these teachings are spread far and wide.  We must create an opportunity for change amongst those souls who are willing to alter course and steer towards a new direction that shall enable them to better weather the storm that is brewing in Mother Earth’s direction.

Copyright Richard Marshall  25.09.2009.  

   There are over sixty communications by The Cosmic Brotherhood.   Although our main interest in them is the animal rights factor, some are concerned with the well being of our planet, explaining why we should not take crystals from the Earth or cut down trees, while others give valuable tips regarding the art of meditation and self-awareness, leading to spiritual and psychic development.

All writings will eventually  be  available to read on our forum,  but only two will be published each year in our letter. More are available  on request to platform mediums wishing to read them out during their ‘philosophy’ slot at Divine Service, or to those wishing to give a talk on behalf of the animals.  Please send an A5 s.a.e. with your clear request.

So to the past year:

I recently attended the World Day for Animals in  Laboratories  march and rally, which concluded in  a vigil outside the proposed site for a new  ‘super lab’, situated next to St. Pancras station.  Planning permission has not been granted yet, but should the  organizations involved , which include the ‘lovely’ Cancer Research U.K., receive the go-ahead, protests will begin ‘big time’, in  early June.

December’s International Animal Rights Day, saw Surrey contact, Therese McElwee  hold a prayer meeting and slaughterhouse vigil.  She was joined by   Medium, Jane Bateman, who gave a talk of her own this Mother’s Day, during which she asked the congregation to become vegetarian for a week .  Thanks to Surrey readers who support  Therese and Jane in their constant efforts for our animal brethren. Please contact Therese regularly, regarding  future plans.

Our “Vegan Spiritual Gathering” at Derbyshire’s Unstone Grange, last July,  was very successful, not only in terms of raising £1050 for the three charities: Home and Abroad Animal Welfare, The Retreat Animal Rescue and Vegan Prisoners’ Support Group, but also in terms of customer satisfaction.  I don’t think I have seen a happier bunch of people in a long while.

We were tucked away in that grand old house for the weekend and Saturday night saw us piled into the room designated for daytime healing, with only ourselves, fine wine and an open, log fire for cheery company.  As most of us didn’t retire until well into the early hours, it was plain to see that communication was in full flow and that the world would be put to rights by morning.

All this took place after Chef Patrick’s scrumptious, vegan food at lunch and dinner, followed by a hilariously funny and emotionally stirring evening’s entertainment, courtesy of  “The Lucid Lurchers ,  whose C.D. sales will continue to make money for the charities involved when they become ready for sale.

Particular thanks go to those  who gave one hundred per cent of themselves  with  the seemingly never ending kitchen tasks, especially Lorraine Drake, who came all the way from Devon.

The workshops , talks and demonstrations went down a treat and when I say “treat”, my mouth still waters at the memory of seaweed rolls and  veggie-burgers at the raw food cookery session.

The talks on Cancer Truth and Angels were very mind-awakening and popular, respectively, while the Emotional Freedom Technique session greatly enhanced at least one person’s life that I know of.

The demonstrations and private readings were of high standard and many benefited from healing, especially the animals, some of whom had more than their say, both outwardly and inwardly,  during the Animal Communication Workshop.  Yes, I can hear your wistful sighs as you wish you were present at that one.

One who was also disappointed that she couldn’t attend the workshop, as planned, was the A.R.I.S. member originally booked to lead it.   Her communication experience, as regards our brothers and sisters of other species,is astounding, as was made plain to us through her stories already printed in previous newsletters.  Here is the last of   :

Three Encounters with Wise Animals

By Kate E. A. Berridge, Healing medium, teacher of healing, animal – whisperer and dog/cat nutritionalist

Initiation

   My first life-changing encounter with a wise animal was as a small child, aged four and a half when I met a snake. My dad was in the forces, so we lived in Cyprus, which, was scorching hot. I had an argument with my big sister and ran off to hide under a large, shady bush.

As I sat cooling down, a beautiful brown and sandy-coloured snake slithered from under a stone, laid herself out just in front of me, unafraid, and proceeded to shed her skin. I have no idea how long I was there but as she changed I felt myself leaving my own body and standing next to it, staring at myself.

All of a sudden, I was the snake – I had entered fully into her experience. I could feel the cool sand, the new skin and the uncomfortable sensation as the old skin was shed. And  such a deep, inner strength.

   As the snake, I was acutely aware of the magnetic power and pull of the Earth and the friendly, living nature of the bush. It’s hard to explain but from then on, I have been able to deeply emphasise with other living creatures and to share in their emotions and physical sensations. Now I see my meeting with the snake as an initiation into spirit and into an awareness of the sacred circle of all life, beyond the merely human, as we are all connected and made of the same soul-material.

There was no one to tell about this awakening, I was too young to find the words but I went home with the snake-skin and my mum let me keep it for ages, until it finally fell to pieces.

Our ARIS 2011 calendar  will be available from October of this year, at a small donation of around £1.50 inc. p&p, made payable to A.R.I.S.

It includes, in its compilation, members’ entries to our calendar competition of 2007 and contains  interesting, true stories of  animal spirit communication between the worlds, Initiation gracing the October slot.

This would make a nice gift for Christmas, so make a note in your diary to order early autumn .

One of the Few.

by C. Neale Eyre.

A  flame is growing in the hearts of man.

The strongest flame is in but few

But it’s growing e’en in others too.

It’s a flame to cleanse the world of greed

And banish every evil deed.

It may oft’times falter, it may subside,

Dampened by a flowing tide.

Once in a while the flame is wafted

By a visiting angel’s wings

And souls are lifted, spirits strengthened

by the herald chorus that it sings.

And then the fire begins to rage

To bring about a brand new age.

Yes, it burns the fiercest in the hearts of a few

But these are the ones who will carry it through

And then the fire will never die,

Because of the angels, and one is you.

Eggs & Honey?

    How often does  a conversation about veganism turn up the question:

“ How do you stand on locally grown organic eggs and honey?  My hens are happy birds, having a very large garden to roam in. The six eggs they give me each day aren’t fertilized by a cockerel and the hens produce them anyway.

     My bees are well looked after.  I don’t take all their honey and they are never fed sugar .”?

Well, lets tackle the eggs debate.  We all know that eating any animal produce is against vegan policy, not only for the obvious reasons regarding the cruelty of factory farming methods but also because animals are sent to slaughter, whether from intensive or organic farms.

In the case of male chicks, methods of dispatching the same include gassing and mincing alive, these babies being worthless to the egg industry, as different strains of birds are reared for the ‘pot’.  This is barbaric, even if their mothers have lived in a free- range environment. Therefore, if eggs are being sold commercially, even in small business, there has to be this kind of cruelty involved, as well as the emotional factor that the hen can’t brood on her eggs until her young hatch out.

    However, the scenario described at the beginning of this article doesn’t fit into these categories, nor does that of the rescued hen and needs to be examined by our consciences more closely.  To find out more, I begged the wisdom of Kath Clements, author of  “Why Vegan” , who told me:

“To respond to a question asking  why I would not eat eggs from a rescued hen living out its days in the best possible conditions   –As humans developed over the millennia, eggs would have been found extremely rarely and cannot be considered part of the original primate diet.  Humans have adapted of course but this background gives a clue that eating eggs regularly is actually bad for us, mainly because of their high cholesterol content as well as their tendency to hide pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Listeria).  The plant-based diet is based on what is naturally good for us, and it does not include things we may be able to eat occasionally without too much damage.

   Therefore if I was keeping rescued hens I would consider the eggs a waste product and perhaps put the eggs out for wild scavenger animals or dispose of them as harmlessly as I could (NOT on the compost heap!).  The unfertilised egg is the equivalent of a menstrual flow and nature did not mean it for human consumption – actually it’s possible that unfertilised eggs would hardly ever occur in nature anyway. 

In nature, the cousins of domestic fowl lay eggs only in season, when food is relatively plentiful and when they will have a fair chance of raising their young successfully.   When they have a clutch of eggs, they stop laying, incubate the eggs and rear the chicks.  It is only by CONSTANTLY FEEDING high protein foods that the hen is able to lay for long periods.  Also, REMOVING the eggs prevents the instinct of incubating the eggs and makes the hen want to lay more.  So to me this is against nature and I don’t want to do it.

I personally wouldn’t want to keep rescued hens because to me doing so, and eating the eggs, is then just part of the whole sorry business – it perpetuates the cultural norm that eggs are desirable and good for us.

To me, keeping animals in their own excrement is a complete aberration.  No animal in nature lives in their own shit.  This is the root of many diseases, as we know – not only those we’ve become aware of more recently, but loads and loads throughout history, tetanus to this day, etc…  A hen coop stinks, and is a magnet for rats, foxes etc – poor hens!  Keeping animals in their own excrement, however kindly the keeper, is something I really hate – what could be more unnatural!  ( my friend who keeps rescued hens needs to keep cats to keep the rats down, therefore buys quantities of slaughterhouse products for the cats, and so the abuse of nature goes on…)”

Well, I think Kath has made some very valid points in putting forward her views and  has helped me to conclude thus: Recently visiting an allotment where, in all cruelty, hens never left their shed and its tiny outside area, I came to suspect that the same was representative of many cases of  poultry keeping.    Of course, birds rescued from dire conditions must have somewhere to live. Therefore ,taking into account the difficulties there must be in finding the perfect natural habitat, I think most chickens would welcome an environment similar to the one described at the beginning of this article .  If their eggs really couldn’t just be left in their own custody, then wild creatures would certainly benefit from the donation of such a filling dish.

Now to the subject of Bee-keeping.

According to  the Vegan Society, “ in commercial  bee-keeping,  queens are  regularly killed and replaced……..virgin queens are artificially inseminated with sperm from crushed males.  The queen often has her wings clipped off to prevent swarming – the natural way for a colony to reproduce itself.”

In these intensive businesses , bees are often fed sugar through the winter months while their honey  is enjoyed by humans and in the summer  they are used to pollinate flowers in areas where the wild of their species become overwhelmed by them.  Even in the smaller or “hobby” colonies where the inhabitants  appear to be looked after and only a little honey is ‘stolen’ from them, there is still the high  risk of disease through the Varroa mite, susceptibility coming from the bees  being kept in cages.  Unfortunately, according to the Vegan Society, this “ is threatening the few remaining wild bee colonies.”  It has been said that when these leave our planet, we have just four years left. –  another reminder of the importance of the insect kingdom to our own survival.  Of course , infant  botulism may get us first – another possible side-effect of honey produce.

My  sources tell me that, even in the most seemingly caring environments, there are bound to be casualties, as in squashed bees – not surprising, when one is dealing with trays full of them, within an enclosed structure. The queen is still thrown out of this hive when she has outlived her usefulness, after being imprisoned within it all her life….  a life that didn’t allow her nature’s freedom to lead her swarm where she wist.

I hope this clears up one or two sticking points for those who are not sure how far to take the moral argument.

As we bring this newsletter to a close, I would like to thank all those who have supported us  with their donations, practical help, or both.

Remember, if your church or centre would like a batch of our  leaflets, please contact us at H.Q.  For individual information packs, contact Jennifer Sharp. 

    It only remains for us to ask you to make note of the important events on the next page and wish spiritual blessings for you all and all your animals until next year.

Regular Events.

Please get in touch with your nearest A.R.I.S area contact, as a few of them, hold weekly/monthly street stalls or leafletings, bringing animal rights awareness to the general public. Spiritual communities, festivals, fayres and exhibitions are also venues for this kind of work.

Several also concentrate on working inwardly, with spirit ,through light- working circles,  to end animal abuse, then acting upon the inspiration and guidance given, with effort on the material level.

If Only They Could Speak. By Gordon Albert Zealey.

Man talks about his lesser brethren – wonder how he’s got the nerve.

Their social graces leave us standing – animals have style and verve.

Our cold, deliberate cruelty makes some life forms feel stark and bleak. 

I wonder what THEY think of HUMANS. LORD- if ONLY – they could SPEAK.

For, animals just kill for food – they have a basic innocence.

Our ‘sport’, ‘gainst foxes, grouse, WHATEVER, spells a capital offence.

You just try telling THAT to ‘gentry’ – riding off with horse and hounds.

Those big, fat wallets win again.  Man’s villainy just knows…no bounds….

Each single thing which God has made, has got a heart, a soul, a mind

And every leaf, each blade of grass, all share one common voice – “Be kind.”

Most animals can swift forgive – no hate – no grudge – they simply…love.

It’s wide affection, without strings.  Who’s best, in eyes of God above?

So, we can bluster all we like.  Soul virtues put them STREETS ahead,

For, they don’t murder, rob and rape.  We’ll pay right dear, once we are ‘dead.’

Just all the EVIL doers, that is.  You and I are mild and meek.

Let’s ask our BRETHREN how to live. Dear God, if only they could SPEAK.

Copyright Gordon Albert Zealey 1964.

Forthcoming Events.

Could I ask all readers to consider the hunted animals when casting their vote in the general election on May 6^th?   It is feared that the Conservatives intend to do all they can to bring back hunting, should they become government.  This means suffering for stags and hares as well as foxes.

Another point to remember, when perusing the manifestos, is the issue of  our belonging to the E.U.  With some of our natural, herbal remedies already banned and  breeding for bull- fighting purposes already subsidised by this body, it is a concern to be reckoned with.

Sunday, May 9^th.  Holistic Cancer Support Centre Meeting.  Gosforth Lodge. Cliff Park, Dronfield. 1pm – 4pm  Contact A.R.I.S. H.Q.

June 19^th. Anti-vivisection  Demo, Sheffield. 12.30.pm, City Hall..  Saeis.wordpress.com

Brotherhood of the Essenes Annual Convocation.  Glastonbury Town Hall Glastonbury,Somerset. 11pm. to 2pm., 21^st June. Contact Essenes –   info@essenes.org

Summer Evening of Clairvoyance ,with leading Medium Roy Mackay, planned for Farnham . Details confirmed later by website and Surrey mailout . Contact Therese.

Animal Rights in Spriitualism- NEWSLETTER   May 2009.

Dedicated to our beloved, good, kind dogs, Judy Rattigan, Judi & Jack Preston, Lottie Szwelicka, Paddy Berridge, Patrick Jones and Rocco & Jessie McElwee. Also in memory of  Helga, the adopted  sheep who was brutally tortured to death. Her murderers will be allowed to keep animals again after 10 years. Finally, we honour Eddie Bunce, tireless in his care of wildlife and Bill  Cox, medium for the guide, Brother Joseph.

Hello All,

   Well, it’s nearly time for our exciting event at Unstone Grange and I hope as many of you as live within a reasonable distance of the venue will want to visit this interesting organic trust which stands within five acres of garden.

If you live further afield and warm to a weekend spot of camping in the grounds, or shared accommodation in the house, please book as soon as  possible.

Perhaps you would like to make this fundraiser a success for the charities involved, but, for your own good reasons, cannot attend.  In this case, please pass on the  enclosed information or  consider helping out in another way: Every small donation which is sent to us, up to the thirteenth of July and  marked ‘Event’ on the accompanying note, will be added to the takings at the end of the gathering.  This, we hope, will ensure that we can send a good sum to each cause mentioned on the programme.

A  very interesting evening of Psychic Art, organised by our Surrey contact, Therese McElwee. took place recently  in  Farnham and raised

£ 350.00 for The Retreat Animal Rescue in Kent. The workers at this sanctuary, which  takes in all manner of animals, including farm animals , have also done much to help the plight of the persecuted Trafalgar Square pigeons. Mediums, June Elleni Laine and Debbie Dean presented  a wonderful display of the fruits of their gifts, after which there was a raffle and refreshments which, I hear, involved very tasty vegan cakes.  Mmmm.

Last year, Therese raised  an amazing £660.00 for Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land by organising  a similar event.  We are so proud to have one so eager to serve our cause as part of our group.   She has also put much effort in  to her  lightworking circle.  Interestingly,  the same being of light  has visited both the Farnham group and our North Midlands meeting.

At the latter, further synchronicity was in evidence when one sitter’s inspirational verse tallied with ideas brought to the circle by another.

Thanks to all of you who sit for this important work and do keep the progress reports coming in.

Our appreciation also goes out to A.R.I.S. member and  South London contact , Simone Phillips.  Having imaginative ideas, and most importantly,  computer skills, she is also someone to whom I can, eventually, delegate the website work.

Simone is seeking an animal  communication workshop or appropriate development circle in the London area. If anyone knows  of one which is accepting new members, she would be grateful for the information.

Further blessings be bestowed upon Jennifer Sharp,  our contact for the East London area, who has already taken on the task of sending information packs to newcomers.

Jennifer  is looking for  a live-in position, so if any of our members would like to offer the same to a kindred spirit, please study her advertisement below:

Lady, 59, animal lover, experienced housekeeper (care-work) ,  “Country lover”, seeks live-in position  with own unfurnished accommodation outside the London area.  

Clean driving Licence. References available.

 We are always grateful to those who send donations or support and although not practical to mention them all each year, I’d like to  say a special “Thank you”  to William Cook, Clive Morris, Sylvia Rose Aris, Ruby Bunce, Gillian Lewis, Lorraine Drake, ‘Two Worlds’ and ‘Psychic News’,  this time round.

Healing List.

Please let us know if you have an addition to the list of names below.

Tony  Ortzen, Jamie & Ruby Bunce, Rita, Philip Yates and his mother, Leisha Yates, Mike & Oriel Blissett, Peter Spillet, Pat Taylor, Hawick Animal Friends, Ayala, Barnaby, Solo, Hetta, Janet Williams, Sylvia Lydgard, Judy, Denise Bottal’s mum, Shirley Mahoney, Socks, Kalyani’s mum, Alison Nichols, Sylvia Murphy, Phyllis White, Shadow, Colleen McDuling & her hamster, Phyllis James, Joan Birch & friends, Roger Raynes.

June & Julian  Bullas, Betsy, Poppy, Lucy, Margaret Wills, Margaret Newsom, Margaret Towler and Kevin, her cat, Vivienne Brocklehurst, Lassie, Gina Szwelicka,  Austin, Lorraine Drake, Sian Winstanley,  the Alan Berry family, Diane Kuhle & granddaughter, Carole Neale Eyre, Sylvia O’Neill , Bangers, Don  & Tracie Gwillim Dyc Browning, Maureen Lambert and all in need .

   As you can gather from the cover dedication, beings special to a number of us have passed into the world beyond over the past year .  Our own lovely dog, Judy, departed her earthly body just a couple of days before Christmas.

A little prior to that time, however, one whose remarkable story by Kate Berridge graced last year’s newsletter, also left for the realms of spirit following a stroke.

Being a spiritual dog, it is not surprising that Paddy Berridge went out like a light, though not in the same way as the phrase usually suggests.  According to Kate, a very strange event took place:

After a twenty four hour wake and laying in ceremony, a candle was placed  on his grave.  Being orange , to represent the element of water so evident in Paddy’s personality, it was left there at nine thirty p.m., following his funeral.

Disturbing some and inspiring other passers-by,  the candle’s light shone out to two hundred yards and for two and a half days, through wind, rain and hail!

Kate further astounds by informing us that ,  “When it finally went out, it left no trace of wax or damage to the moss or stones of his cairn.”

What further evidence do we need that our animals are always there for us, whether this side of life or the other?

 This year, we continue with our series of true stories on animal communication with:

Not a stranger – but a friend

By Kate E. A. Berridge

Many wonderful things happen when you work with animals – but I’d like to tell you about something that always pleases me and to use this little story to illustrate an astounding ability that animals have.

A healing student of mine phoned me on Christmas day to ask if I could go to her mum’s house – now – as their dog was dangerously ill and the vet had said that there was no hope.

I really didn’t want to give up my whole day and I said I’d send out distant healing in 10 minutes time and that if it didn’t help, I’d come in person. I asked if she could sit down with the dog and in her mind, meet me by a large oak tree – somewhere we had ‘been’ before together, in her training meditations.

So I duly sent a good long healing. My student – very talented – saw me there with herself and the dog and ‘saw’ us both give healing. The dog had relaxed and soaked up the energy.

After the healing, this dog recovered enough to drink, eat and go to the toilet. I phoned and said I’d go to the house on the following day and not to worry.

The next day I arrived at my student’s mum’s house and knocked on the door.

An anxious mum opened it and said my student had had to go out and that I must wait there.

She sounded distressed. She had no one at home to restrain the Alsatian who hated strangers and even though she was now quite elderly, the dog always ‘went nuts’ when someone she didn’t know came to call.

I reassured her that I had met the dog before – in a meditation – and to let me come in and all would be well.         The lovely old dog came wagging her tail and greeted me like a long lost friend – she led me into the living room and laid down, ready for more healing. The lady was finding it hard to believe that I had never been to her house before.

This recognition of someone they have never met in the physical form, but know full well are there to help, happens over and over again. The telepathic power of animals never ceases to delight and amaze me.

_____________________________________________________

­Kate is an S.N.U. Qualified healer – animals welcome – workshops – Tel: 01422 847334.

Another new member whom we are happy to welcome into our fold is Richard Marshall, who, for some time, has been receiving  communications from the spirit world.  In particular, he has channelled writings from those calling themselves The Cosmic Brotherhood and thought we might be interested in their views on :

THE CO-EXISTENCE OF DIFFERENT SPECIES ON VARIOUS LEVELS OF THE SPIRITUAL REALMS. 

By

The Cosmic Brotherhood. 

   We  begin this topic at the extreme end of the suffering endured by those wretched creatures reared solely for the purpose of satisfying the needs of those who wish to eat meat. I wonder how many of you would continue this barbaric practice if you could see for yourself from another perspective, as these creatures are suddenly thrust into our world.  They come with fear and terror in their eyes and are very much bewildered by their new environment.

As with all souls whose needs are great, they have sanctuaries of rest where dedicated souls spend much of their time nurturing these poor creatures back to health, where they are shown love and affection as well as compassion.

As you are aware, there are many different levels in our world.  So, as an animal progresses in health, it progresses also to another level, until such time that it can resume its normal function.  At this point, it will roam freely in the luxurious surroundings that we have here, although it takes time and much dedication to achieve these results.  Those souls who carry out these duties are, in the main, unselfish souls whose love for animals has been carried with them to our side of life.

Next we shall speak of the degrading and appalling acts of cruelty carried out in the name of science.  We have many different species thrust into our world after being subjected to the most despicable and horrific, as well as extremely painful experiments.  These are carried out in laboratories built and designed especially for this purpose.

In some ways, this particular form of treatment has a much wider impact on the wretched creatures concerned.  Some of these have never experienced love or affection and have known only pain and great suffering their entire lives.  The only release for them comes when they pass to our world.  But, as on Earth, those souls who express the desire to help these poor creatures have to work very hard indeed to gain their trust.  Many, in fact, the vast majority, depending on the levels of suffering, have been so cowered by their experience, that all they can do is whimper and show great despair in their eyes.  If they are approached, you can see anxiety in their eyes, as yet more pain is expected

So, you see how many have worked tirelessly on behalf of those sad creatures.  Believe it or not, just as you would have a pet on Earth, so it is no different here.  After much love and dedication has been showered upon them, many of these animals do not show any desire to leave those who wish to leave this type of work.  Some souls find it too distressing and desire new surroundings to replenish their energies.  So, in many of these cases, a particular animal and its carer will leave together, as neither one has the inclination or the desire to leave the other.

Now, from the extreme end of the spectrum, we shall speak of the creatures that are kept as pets by man in your world.  No doubt you have a particular type of bond with a certain animal if you have treated it fairly in life and showed it love and affection.  Then, not only will it wish to remain with you after physical death but will also show the desire to rekindle your previous relationship that it shared with you when on Earth.

We will conclude with the false impression that many in your world have:  the notion that if animals do pass to another life, then they have a separate realm in our world.  However, we must eradicate this falsehood.  As you share the Earth with all of God’s creatures, so it remains here.

Where ever you reside in the world of spirit, you will find many species of animal, plant and tree life.  We also have rivers, where different species of fish swim without the fear of being caught on a hook-like contraption.  We have oceans where you will find many species, including whales.  We also have other species, long extinct, yet who flourish in our environment.  For those who come here with good intent, as well as a good heart, they will find a feast of new experiences.

   Those of you who have read our ‘What the Guides Say” series of  leaflets may remember the quotes from  “From Earth to Eternity” by Brother Joseph, spirit guide of our dear, late Bill Cox.

This book is now out of print and with Bill’s passing, it may be presumed that the guide’s mission is fulfilled in that capacity.  It is hoped, however,  that through A.R.I.S. , his words will continue to sow seeds of compassion within the hearts of those who are open to it.

That said, It feels most appropriate, that in this year’s letter, we honour the guide’s humble medium, not only as a channel, but as the wonderfully unique individual he was and will still be.

  Beryl, Bill’s wife, herself an impassioned campaigner on behalf of animals, sent us his captivating story:

 William Francis Cox.   28/08/1923 – 16/11/2008. 

Once upon a time there was a little boy who had been ill as a baby and could see only light and dark shapes.  He was an only child as his mother had been carrying twin boys when she saw her father hang himself, with consequent shock and loss of the twin boys.

When he was only five, his mother  was obliged to send him to a boarding school for blind and partially-sighted children, many miles away.  It was a harrowing time for him at first.  He remembered,  in particular, when he had difficulties with his braces and a girl laughed at him.  Things were still a bit Dickensian.  In fact, they were old-fashioned in a number of ways.  The lady who supervised the childrens’ weekly bath would use the same water for FOUR pupils. Needless to say, they were not allowed to speak to the girls out of school, which, of course, only encouraged surreptitious friendships.

He turned out to be very clever at school, winning a silver braille watch for history and learning to read braille with his fingers as quickly as many sighted persons could read print.

The boys at school who were very good at electronics, made themselves little crystal  radios with aerials attached to the iron bedstead.  Not that they were taught electronics, or chemistry, physics, algebra or geometry;  but most  pupils became accomplished musicians, both in choral singing and playing the piano or huge church organ.  Later on, Bill passed three piano exams in one year, Grade V Higher, Grade V1 intermediate and  Grade V11.  That was in the space of one year, towards getting the ARCM (Associate of the Royal College of Music.)  He wanted to earn his living as a piano tuner but the local authority would not pay. They said there would not be a demand for such a person – this in West Ham, an area of thousands of people, where singing and dancing were taught in schools and many people had pianos.  So they refused to let him go to The College at Worcester.  His subsequent accomplishments have proved the experts wrong, as usual.

So he had to become a brushmaker.  Sighted people in authority then were no better to those less fortunate than themselves than some are now.  This brushmaking trade consisted of dipping tufts of brushes and brooms into boiling hot pitch – and he stuck it for six years.

At this time it was during the war and he and his family were bombed out of their houses twice, so they moved a bit further down the road, next door to a big Baptist church.  Marvellous centre for young people, Bill soon made his mark at the Music Club and became a bass singer in one of the choirs. He had an extensive knowledge of orchestral music – no doubt added to during many, many hours spent alone listening to records and the radio.

His mother went out to work in the evenings.  He has often told me that one of the reasons he now loves Christmas with all our family round him is that his memories of the lonely Christmases were not happy.

Anyway, one year he went on a holiday which had been arranged by the church to Angmering in Sussex.  There he heard Handel’s Largo being played, so he found his way over to the piano to find out who was playing.  It was a young girl and he lost no time in chatting her up  and asking her out to the prominade concerts.  So we  went to loads of concerts, fairs, sang in choirs and, in general, had a jolly good time, the upshot being that we were married two years later.  There were over  three hundred present and ‘In Heavenly Love Abiding’  was one of the hymns.  (We went to St. Andrews in Scotland for our honeymoon.)

It wasn’t long before Bill decided that he could do more than put bristles in brushes, so applied for training as a switchboard operator.  This was granted.  Even then he was showing signs of being a fighter.  They tried to prevent him going home at weekends.  Said it had never been done before.  Said he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the training, what with  the long journey, etc.  He disproved all that by completing  the course successfully in two months instead of three!  He said he felt better  for going homeweekends.  I certainly did!  So he worked for the Royal Mail Shipping Line and two Employment Exchanges.  

By that time, we had three little boys and needed a proper house, so we moved to Norwich.  While there, he decided to train as a Welfare Officer for blind people, so he stayed in London with his parents.  Once more the experts were proved wrong.  They said he might just about pass!!!  He got several distinctions and credits in the subjects he took.  He was eighteen years as a Welfare Officer for the Blind and we had our fourth son in Lincoln.  Bill continued working, although frequently in pain with glaucoma.    He had lost the ability to be aware of light due to *Moorfields treatment in 1952.

Blind people were entitled to a qualified Welfare Officer, one who could teach them Braille, etc.,  but, due to the fact that , if you don’t specialise in this work , you get more money, few people trained.  Bill wanted promotion, but with the arrogance of some sighted people towards disabled people, was told  “ Why can’t you be satisfied  with what you are?”  So often, people think that disabled people  should be pleased with what they are given, whether they want it or not.

After much planning,  he formed The National Tape Magazine for the Blind, on cassette, in 1976 and was again told by the ‘experts’ that ‘it won’t last six months’.  There were some difficulties, of course,  not least the soundproof studio needed because of the aircraft from Coningsby.  So our son, Geoffrey, and a friend built a soundproof studio.  Local villagers were marvellous, organising and attending two fairs.  We’ve got photos of Princess Anne at our little cottage in Moorhouses, twelve miles from Boston.

I have been asked, in the nicest possible way, what it was like to live with a blind person.  I would say: “Don’t leave chairs out from the table and don’t leave doors half open.  Don’t let your trees and hedges overhang the pavement and don’t park on the pavement.  Do turn the light off after a visit if no-one else is in the room.   And, by the way, for the younger people, revving up motor bikes, especially near crossings, makes it difficult, also music blaring out from cars. Don’t take it for granted things can’t be done. There are blind gardeners, chess players, pianists, organists, piano tuners, bicycle repairers, typists, solicitors, singers and welfare officers.”

While our children were young, Bill would take them out as soon as they were old enough to go with him without me.  He took them to the seaside most fine weekends while we lived near Norwich.  He took them vast distances on trains all over the country .  I stayed at home with whichever baby was there at the time.  I don’t think you could have set any of our son’s down anywhere with them not being able to find their way home by bus and train.  I suppose that was one of the advantages of not having a car.  The boys and Francesca became very independent and capable.  If they ever needed any general knowledge, they would go to their father because he was a mine of information.  As an amateur radio enthusiast, he had  a transmitting licence and his own rig since 1952 and  you have to know all about the insides of a radio.  He was also qualified to teach the morse code.  Indoors, he would help with the washing up, hanging out the washing and doing my shopping.  Over all, he was a very good example to those newly blind persons, who think that the end of the world has come for them.  So, while we are at it, let us sing the praises of Louis Braille, because Bill didn’t learn from a cassette.

I said he was a fighter.  When he was a switchboard operator, he had to insist that he had some Saturday mornings off, the same as sighted office staff.  Also, Barclays were not going to allow him a bank account ( in the early sixties),  but they had to alter their regulations due to his persistence. Something similar happened when he applied for Disability Allowance, many years later.  The doctors, on two occasions, said he didn’t qualify, so we did without it for many years.

In the end, I told them a few home truths and they changed their minds – but why were the doctors so stupid?  The times I have had to clean up dog excreta off his shoes when we first came here to Reedham – until I put a notice in  the post office about it.  Well, you wouldn’t like him to come into your hall if he’d trodden in such unpleasant material.

   Well, I’ve had to let him go now.  He had been tired since he had lost his independence.  The railways had cancelled our usual train back to Reedham and we had to stay out for four and a half hours to do our shopping at Lowestoft and that was too much for him, as it was when they took all the kerbs away.  Guide dogs are taught to ‘Stop at the kerb’ and they were taking them all away. And  when they took away our right to cross the line and we had to go up and down all those steps, Bill became frustrated.  Also, the humdreds of painkillers he had to take because of the pain in his eyes caused by Moorfields, way back, surely contributed to this.

So, three cheers for Bill.  I am missing him but at least I know he his out of pain and can see all his sons, daughter, grandsons and granddaughters, great grandson and great granddaughters – and  me, at last.

 Beryl Cox on 1^st December 2008 at St. John’s Church, Reedham, Norfolk.

*Moorfields hospital  – ed.

Bill died last November, followed in the new year, by Eddie Bunce, ‘Dad’ to the famous  Jamie, rescued laboratory beagle.

Readers who joined ARIS in it’s early days,  may remember the puppy’s story as told by his ‘new mum’ Ruby,  Eddie’s beloved wife.

This was a fascinating and heart-rending tale of animal communication which gave us a unique insight into the life  of a two year old dog, who, previously, had never seen the outside of a building.

Eddie, who had to work at gaining the trust of one who , through experience at the hands of men, feared them so much, will now be sorely missed by the little character.

Our healing thoughts go out to both  the Cox and Bunce families and indeed all  of  those who have lost loved ones in the recent months.

“Another day older and deeper in debt” or so goes the song.  It can certainly be said of today and our global economy, according to all news reports.

As regards the United Kingdom, some say we might be slightly better off if we didn’t have to pay £50 billion , yearly,  to The European Union.  “What has this to do with animal rights or spiritualism?”  I hear you ask.  Well, it does rather irritate the compassionate amongst us when they hear that this same union subsidises bullfighting by granting  european funds to bull breeders.  The commission’s excuse in refusing to ban the sport is that bullfighting is traditional, therefore a  cultural issue which cannot be interfered with !

Please get in touch with your M.E.P about the matter and sign  Written Declaration 0002/2007  or, if you feel that the E.U. will eventually invalidate protest on animal issues here in the U.K.,  join the campaign to withdraw from it.

I  have enjoyed immensely working for A.R.I.S. , putting out the spiritual message on behalf of all our animal friends and, of course, being in contact with such kind , generous and like-minded people .  I suppose this year’s spiritual gathering is partly an attempt to bring us all together from our little cells all over the country but it will probably be the last event of its kind  that we, here at headquarters, organise for a  while.

Instead, we intend to concentrate on taking a well equipped stall to other events.  We feel that A.R.I.S. may be able to do it’s job more efficiently in this way.   To begin with, we can put the psychic stories regarding animals into a calendar, create an A.R.I.S. poetry book full of members contributions, make inspirational  greeting cards  and in general,  focus on using our own spiritual and creative gifts in order to raise funds for those working frontline in our compassionate quest.

Often, given the right venue, an attractively laid out stall,  which displays  informative literature, has merchandise for sale and gives healing or  readings in exchange for donations , will make just as much in funds as  would a full event and will do so without the difficulties involved in finding helpers or the cost of a hall.

Speaking of  fundraising, a good earner is the raffle which is usually held at our events.  This year, we have a raw food juicer as our main prize but in the past, an excellent postal  reading has been given by our  member from Wales, Kate Reeves, as  has with Paul Noble, our North London Contact.  It is with great regret , however, that I have to inform you all that Kate is no longer in a position to give readings and has asked that I let everyone know.  Those of you who received a reading from her gave me very positive feedback and we will miss her and her contribution.

This leaves us with one medium down  and a position to fill, for it is our intention to start a  postal raffle to coincide with the sending of  the yearly newsletter.   If there are any experienced mediums among you who would like to offer such a reading as a prize, please let us know.

As usual, this year,  I attended the national march and rally organised by the animal rights group, SPEAK .  This time it was held in London for World Day for Laboratory Animals and was   “aimed at bringing various strands of the movement together……..where we can exchange news and ideas and think about future tactics and strategies.”

   At the rally, it was brought to our attention that there is to be a political party  entitled  Speak Political whose main function will be to try and disempower anti animal rights  M.P.s  by standing for election in their constituencies.  If this party  have candidates standing in your area, you can be sure that your vote for them will not be lost on empty words and a lust for power but will help balance the scales of justice in favour of all this country’s inhabitants, no matter what their species.

Speaking of  politics and still on the subject of anti-vivisection here follows a particularly important message in……

Pat’s Points

Early Day Motion 569 :

SAFETY OF MEDICINES

26.01.2009

Gibson, Ian  M.P.

“That this House believes that the safety of medicines should be established by the most reliable methods available in order to reduce the large and increasing toll of serious adverse drug reactions; and calls on the Government to initiate an unprecedented comparison of currently required animal tests with a set of human biology-based tests, as required by the Safety of Medicines (Evaluation) Bill, to see which is the most effective means to predict the safety of medicines for patients.”

   “I will not be signing EDM 569”

Liam Fox  MP  for Woodspring     Mar 25 09

The reason that Fox gives why he does not want a scientific comparison ?

“   . we are still not at a stage where alternative methods of experimentation are as reliable or comprehensive as those involving animals.  … human biology-based testing  … such options are as yet not as reliable …. as animal testing.”

How does Fox know when there has been no comparisons?

He does not : he just knows that it would be disastrous for the petro-pharma mafia if it had to abandon its totally unreliable animal testing and subject its products to genuine safety and efficiency tests.

As good an example of integrity, in  an MP, as you will find : we will see how many more do not want any scientific evaluation of fraudulent “animal research”.

Please contact your MP and try to ensure that they sign the EDM : negative replies are being collected, so please pass them on to us.

Forthcoming Events.

Sat, 16^th May, 10am-6pm, Veggie pride – outdoor festival. Victoria Square, Birmingham,  FREE ADMISSION. Tel: 01527 458395

Sunday, 24^th May, 10.30 am – 3pm.  Hope Pastures Open Day & Plant Fair.  Wheetwood lanre, Leeds.

June 13^th,Raise funds for  Animals Asia foundation  by attending their ‘East Meets West’ evening in aid of the ‘Moon Bears’ . 6p.m. .start at Station Farm, London Rd., Six Mile Bottom, Newmarket, CB8 0UH. Tel: 01579 347148    Also please use the search engine www.everyclick.com/animalsasiafoundation    

Friday 10^th to Sunday 12^th July, 6pm to 6pm inc. ,or Saturday & Sunday daily between 10am & 5.30pm. – Vegan Spiritual Gathering, Unstone Grange, Unstone, Nr. Dronfield, Derbyshire. Contact: Elissa Rattigan. Tel:  01246 230474 or email elissarattigan@hotmail.com

Regular events.

A. R.I.S. Animal Rights Street Stall.  First Saturday of each month.  12 noon to 3pm Outside HSBC bank in market Square, Chesterfield.  Telephone  01246 230474 on the morning to confirm the leafleting is taking place.

A.R.I.S. Lightworking circles.  Telephone your A.R.I.S. area contact or headquarters for information  regarding your nearest group.

Every Thursday from 3.45 to 4pm our Oxford contact, Albert Gould holds meditations  near the new Oxford laboratory.  Those interested may join him there or tune in from a distance for the animals.  Contact Albert for further details.

Sponsor a vegan prisoner’s term of imprisonment  and raise funds  for Greek Animal Rescue.  Contact Vesna Jones. G.A.R. 69, Great North Way, Hendon, London. NW4 1PT Tel: 020-8203 1956. email: info@greekanimalrescue.com

Support the  ongoing campaigns of  VIVA.   8, York Ct., Wilder St., Bristol, BS2 8QH.

and PETA . PO Box 36668, London, SE1 1WA.  Email: info@peta.org.uk

World Day for Laboratory  Animals.  March & Rally, held  around April 24^th each year. email:   info@wdail.org.

Support Speak and Stop Huntington Cruelty campaigns –      www.speakcampaigns.org        www.shac.net

 Elissa Rattigan.  Animal Rights  in Spiritulism.  1, Quarry Bank Road, Chesterfield. S41 0HH.  Tel: 01246 230474  email: elissarattigan@hotmail.com             Webs:    http://www.aris.veggroup.org      www.britishantiviv.org